The Journey Home
by kenshinakh
Summary: I'm picking this fanfiction up again and will try to finish it this year.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

One day After Falling from the Sky…

"Ugh, where are we?" Renton groaned as he sat up. He looked around; Eureka lied next to him. She was still in her white gown and he was still wearing the clothes he wore when he rescued her. "Oh, yeah…" Renton laid back, memories of the day before flooded back into him, "I just rescued Eureka… the Nirvash took her place… we were falling to the earth, and kissed… then everything faded to black…" Eureka squeezed his left hand, waking him from the flashbacks.

"Renton… Let's go home"

"Yes, let's go…"

They both got up and looked around them. A vast desert stretches from all around them. "Out of all places to land, we landed in a desert!" Renton told Eureka. In the far distant, a tiny spec was visible.

"Look, Eureka!"

"It looks like a town." She responded.

"Yeah, let's head there."

They walked in silence, enjoying the peace of being with each other. Eureka breaks the silence asking Renton,

"Do you think they're waiting for us?"

"Of course! Maurice, Maeter, Linck, Holland, and everyone on the Gekko-Go are waiting for us."

They continued to walk in silence but then Eureka broke the silence again,

"Tell me how you rescued me."

"Well… the Nirvash transformed like theEND did. Its armor turned to silver, the cockpit changed too. It was like flying through the air… I felt like I could do anything because of you…" Renton blushed at the words he just said.

"I feel like that too!" Eureka answered. They both stared at each other for a moment and then bursted into fits of giggles and laughs. They continued walking and enjoyed the sight together.

Eureka and Renton walked for what seems like ages but finally arrived at the entrance of the town. "Finally, let's go look for someone that can point us in the right direction… Eureka?" Eureka took a few steps back and answered, "What about these wings? Some still bear grudges against Coralians…"

"Eureka… Don't worry about it, I'll protect you no matter what," Renton replied as he embraced her.

They continued into the town looking for a person to ask for directions. The town was a bit smashed up, trash littered the streets, sidewalks were cracked and cars were old and rusty. After they walked for a few minutes, they come upon a man in tattered clothes who was sitting against a wall. "Old man," asked Renton, "do you know which way BellForest is?" The man raised his head. He had a crazed look in his eyes and has obviously not shaven in a while. He smiled, one that sent chills through Renton and Eureka. He observed Renton but then his eyes darted over to Eureka.

"Those wings, those eyes… You! You're the one who caused my misery!" the man gasped. He quickly pulled out a small pistol and aimed it at Eureka. "DIE!" the man screamed and pulled the trigger. "No!" Renton yelled as he jumped in the line of fire. In a flash, Renton was on the ground grasping his left shoulder. "Renton!" Eureka frantically cried. "DIE!" the man cried as he aimed the point of the barrel at Renton's forehead. "Stop, this isn't fair!" Eureka said as she covered Renton with her body. "Fair?" the man laughed, "Life isn't fair… Because of you Coralians, my wife lost her life… She always wanted a kid of her own…" The man stuttered for a moment as tears started streaming down his face, "I was in the middle of giving her the baby she always wanted… We did not hear the alarm before it was too late. On the bedroom wall, a hole grew and then some creature flew in. Before I noticed it, it blew my wife off me… blood ….everything….came out…." The man's face became crazed again, "That's why I will kill you all!" His pistol was now aimed at Eureka instead. To his surprised, however, a loud bang sounded out; The man grasped his stomach and slumped down onto the concrete. Tears streamed down from Eureka's eyes as she held a small black pistol that she found in Renton's right pocket. It was given to him by Holland before the mission began.

"Renton… Hold on…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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_During the conflict - Renton's View_

_-----------------------------------------------_

'_Wah…What happened?' _Renton kept swerving back between reality and unconsciousness. '_I can't move… Ow...Ow… My arm… ' _ Flashes of Eureka's face flashes across his eyes. _ 'Eureka! Eureka! '_

"Renton!" Eureka voice sliced through the darkness. _ 'Eureka…Wait… I can't die now…I must… Protect Eureka…'_

Darkness filled Renton's vision. He felt someone grab something from his right pocket. He opened his eyes and a hazy image appeared; Eureka gripped a gun in her right hand.

'_No…wait…'_

A loud noise rang through Renton's ears before he passed out again.

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"Renton! RENTON!" Eureka screamed. "_The blood is not clotting... At this rate he'll die…_" She thought.

She quickly striped Renton of his shirt and jacket, not hesitating a moment because Renton's life depended on her. Quickly and swiftly, she used Renton's shirt as a bandage and wrapped his left shoulder. It did not stop the blood from flowing though. As soon as Eureka finished bandaging the bullet wound, redness began to take over the shirt. Lifting Renton quickly but carefully onto her back, Eureka winced under Renton's weight and the pain signals from her wings.

"_I must bear this…"_ She thought and began running towards the heart of the city, frantically looking for a hospital.

"Hold on… Renton…" Eureka gasped between breadths. Looking around, she spotted the hospital just down the street. Eureka ran down the street. Unfortunately, the street was very steep causing Eureka to lose her balance, scrap her knees, and drop Renton who in turn rolled down the street. Blood trickled from Eureka's scrapped knee.

"Damn!" Eureka panted as she got up and darted after him.

Bursting through the door of the hospital with Renton on her back, Eureka accidently knocked over a customer.

"Hey!" The customer cried. Eureka did not have time to apologize or even to glance back.

"Emergency! Please, he was shot!" Eureka cried to the nurse. The nurse's face was full of bewilderment, partly because of Eureka's appearance and Renton's blood on her hands.

"Ri, right this way Miss!" The nurse gasped as pointed to her left. "Down that hallway."

Eureka was gone before the nurse could finish.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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One Week later…

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"Ugh"

Renton's head felt like it was being split in half. Even worse, his entire left shoulder stung as if someone had used a hammer and smashed it. "Renton, you're awake!" Eureka said while hugging him. Renton blushed slightly as Eureka's body pressed against his. He liked the feeling; softness, warmth, and a faint smell of perfume entranced him. The moment was cut short as jolts of intense pain shot up his left arm.

"OW! OW!"

"Sor-Sorry!"

"I-it's Ok" Renton said as he rubbed his left shoulder.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"At a hospital"

Renton glanced around the room. The room was a bit bigger than his room in the Gekko-Go, about a 15 by 15 feet room. To his left was the exit door. On the white walls were paintings of skyfish and green hills. Across the room was the restroom. To his right was an open window with light streaming through the cloth blinds. Eureka was to his right also, sitting in a wooden chair with blue pads. The light illuminated her wings, making them sparkle. Renton gazed at her for a moment, he thought she look more beautiful than before. "How did I get here?" asked Renton.

"You were shot remember?"

"Oh… how did you get away?"

Tears started forming in Eureka's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Renton. I didn't mean to shoot the man and kill him. It was just that…" At this point, Eureka clasped her hand over her face, unable to hold in her tears any longer.

"Eureka… Don't worry. It's alright."

"No it's not! The man may have loved ones or children who depended on him! Be-because of me, the man's life is ruined!"

Renton reached over and embraced her, despite the pain signals coming from his left shoulder. Eureka gazed up, her eyes meeting his eyes. "Eureka," Renton firmly said as he wiped her tears away, "Under such circumstances, people dying are nearly unpreventable. If you had not stopped him, both you and I would be dead. Others may be hurt because of him too."

"But…"

Eureka gasped slightly as Renton's hug became firmer.

"Eureka, everything's fine, I'm here for you."

"Renton—"

He kissed her. Eureka was surprised at first but then kissed him too. Time appeared to slow down to a stop. The doorknob rattled and they quickly broke apart, each slightly blushing at the fact that they kissed in public. A doctor walked, wearing traditional doctor clothes, and in his hands was a clipboard. "Oh you're awake. Let me do a quick checkup then."

The doctor lifted up the covers, Renton was dressed in the typical hospital gown. Pulling up Renton's left sleeve, the doctor took off the slightly bloodied bandage wrappings around Renton's shoulder. Renton winced slightly as he applied rubbing alcohol and new bandages.

"There all good. By the way, you're being discharged today. The bullet smashed a few bones so try not to move your arm a lot."

"Thank you, but what about the bill?"

"Don't worry, it's on me."

"Oh Eureka, you'll have to change his bandage every day to prevent infections." Eureka nodded in reply.

"You guys will need new clothes too; no way can you go walking around like that." The doctor snapped his fingers; two nurses came in, one carrying new clothes for Renton and the other carrying Eureka's. "How come you're doing this for us?" Renton asked the doctor. "Well, it's a long story but your father, Adrock Thurston, was a friend of mine. He helped me become what I am now. So now I'm repaying him, for all he has done for me. Anyways, I'll leave you two here by yourselves so you can dress up." The doctor and nurses left the room, leaving the clothes on the side of the bed and Eureka and Renton by themselves. Eureka went into the restroom to changed, leaving Renton to change by himself. He took off the one-piece gown and managed to get his jeans on, which was a typical dark blue. Eureka emerged from the restroom. She was wearing a black dress, similar to the one she always wore with the exception that it exposed more of her back, allowing her wings to move freely. "Here, let me help you dress." She said as she picked up the black T-Shirt. They finished dressing and walked out to the lobby, just then they hear the doctor call their names. "Eureka! Renton!"The doctor said as he ran up to them with a backpack in his hands. "Here these are the bandages and a week's worth of dehydrated food." He said while handing them to Eureka. "They are not very tasty but they will provide enough nutrition and keep you alive." Turning to Renton, he whispered, "You got a good person with you. She was by your side for the whole week you were recovering. So protect her with all you might."

"Well, good bye then." He said aloud.

"Thank you very much!" Eureka and Renton said while bowing.

With a few handshakes, Eureka and Renton left the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Back on the Gekko-Go

"Whe-re should we go?" Holland asked Talho while yawning. As usual, Holland was wearing the clothes he wore during the fight. Talho was still wearing her strange blue and silver clothes. "How about Bell-" Talho was interrupted before she could finish. The bedroom doors slide open and in came Stoner. "Sorry to bother you Leader," Stoner said, "but something has come up that you should see." With that, both men left the room leaving Talho by herself. "Geez…" she said aloud while massaging her forehead, "What now?"

"Well, what's the problem?" Holland asked Stoner. "Take a look at this picture, it's gonna be the next rayout cover." Stoner said while handing a photo to Holland. The picture was Renton and Eureka hugging in a field of colorful flowers.

"It was taken by the Nirvash when Renton went to rescued Eureka."

"How as this possible?"

"You know how all our LFOs have a live camera uplink to the ship? Well, apparently this was the only image that got through."

"Are those things on Eureka's back, wings?"

"Yup."

"Huh… the kids weren't lying then." Holland chuckled a bit to himself.

Just then, a small screen of Woz opened up on the computer screen.

"Leader! Leader! Are you there?" Woz's voice called in.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"A message from the Super Izumo. Patching in now…"

Another box opened up with Dominic's face.

"Holl-"

Dominic was interrupted by Captain Jurgens.

"Holland, there been rumors of rebels within the military. They strictly believed in Dewey and may attempt to carry out the rest of his plans." Jurgens said.

"Can't you take them out or capture them?" Holland asked.

"No, we do not know who they are and we do not know their intentions either."

"Damn…"

With that, the box closed. Holland massaged his temples. "_So much has happened… the earth is literally split in half… what a mess my brother created…"_ He thought.

"Where are you? Renton. Eureka…"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Renton and Eureka were on their way out of town. They took one last glimpse at the city. They noticed that there were craters all around and some buildings were smashed to bits. "Looks like something hit the city." Renton told Eureka who in turn nodded. Opening up the map in his hands, Renton studied the map closely. "Let's see… If we follow this road, the next town will be 10 miles… Hmm… If we cut through this forest… we only have to walk 4 miles!" They walked for ten minutes and arrived at the edge of the forest. "Let's go." Renton said while holding hands with Eureka as they entered the forest.

They walked for a few minutes, curving and strafing around the underbrush and plants. "Do you know which way to go?" Eureka asked Renton. "Of cour-" Renton was cut short by a low lying tree branch that smacked across his face. Eureka couldn't help laughing, "Are you OK, Renton?" His hands were clasped on his nose. "Yeah, no problem, it didn't hurt at all." Eureka extended her right hand, "Come, get up…" Something had caught her attention. Ahead was a forest of huge gray pillars. Renton got up and looked over. "Oh, those are pile bunkers. They supposedly reduce tectonic movement." Eureka continued walking out into the open. "Wait up, Eureka!" Renton said as he stumbled after her. He caught up and gasped at what caught Eureka's attention. In the middle of all the tall gray towers was a gigantic crater. Around it was piles of debris and fallen pillars. Renton placed his hand on Eureka's shoulder, "Let's go, Eureka."

They navigated around mess, making sure not to step onto unstable ground. After passing all the rubble, they came upon a grass field. The field had wild green grass that reached up to their waist. In the distance was a small house with puffs of smoke coming out. "Huh… This place seems familiar..." Renton said aloud, "Let's go check it out." They began to trudge through the long grass when Renton heard a familiar voice. "Hey! Don't step on my strawberry plants!" A man with a fair face, blond hair, and gray eyes came out of the house. He was dressed like a farmer and wore light brown trousers with a dark gray shirt. "Don't move!" He called and began hopping back and forth through the grass. Renton instantly recognized who he was from the way he jumped. "Oh! Renton! You sure have grown! Oh and who is this? You must be the person that is important to Renton! Oops, how rude of me!" He stuck out his right hand to Eureka, "Nice to meet you! I am William B. Baxter. Call me Will. Sorry, I talk a lot don't I?" Eureka shook his hand, wide-eyed and a bit baffled by his personality. "Oh… I'm Eureka…"

"Come in! I'll have some soup prepared very soon unless you have somewhere to go." Will said aloud. Renton looked at Eureka; she looked back at him and nodded. "Follow my steps!" Will called and hoped back to the house. It took a while for both Renton and Eureka to get through though. Poor Will had a few of his strawberry plants trampled. "Sorry, about stepping on your crop." Renton apologized when they reached the porch. "No problem!" Will cheerfully replied. He went to the kitchen and started rapidly chopping up vegetables. They looked around the room. Everything was in pairs and on the chair was Will's wife, Martha. Renton walked up to her and thought that she still had Despair Sickness. Her head turned, her eyes meeting his. Renton stumbled back and knocked a few pans and pots over. "So-Sorry!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Renton recovered from the shock of Martha moving. He noticed a bulge on her stomach. Will walked over, "Remember my wife Martha? Well, she has been pregnant for about 6 months now."

"Oh…Back then, how did you know where to find me?"

"I told you already. Martha told me."  
"How?"

Will released a big sigh. "It's obvious isn't it?" Renton shook his head. Will held his hand up to his forehead, "Well, it's like you and Eureka. You both share a kind of special mental link with each other. So whenever one of you is in trouble, the other would know right away." Renton thought back to the times they had together. He looked over at Eureka; it would explain how they sometimes knew what the other was thinking. "By the way, you guys should take a bath out by the hot spring. It's about half a mile south of this place." It has been a while since Renton took a shower. He quickly took a sniff of his armpits. His face scrunched up from the smell. "Fine." He said and began to walk out. Will interrupted him, "Take Eureka with you too so you can all get back in time for dinner." Eureka blushed and Renton's jaw fell open.

"Wah-WHAT?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah, she's a girl!"

"I know that."

"And I'm a boy…"

"Oh you're scared of her?" Renton's jaw dropped open further. Will continued before Renton could reply, "Don't worry Renton, you can go with me! Martha will go with Eureka after we finish." Renton thought about it and looked over to Eureka who in turn nodded. "Alright." Renton said.

"Good! Let's go right now while we wait for the soup to finish!" Will finished and with that he thumped Renton on the shoulder. "OW!" Renton cried as he writhed to the floor. Eureka rushed over, "Renton! " Will's face was full of confusion. "Sorry!" He cheerfully apologized. With Eureka's help, Renton got back up and grunted "It's OK, just don't do that again." "No problem!" Will responded and with that, they left the house leaving Eureka and Martha by themselves.

Eureka looked over to Martha and then at her pregnancy. She thought to herself, "She has a baby like Talho too!" Martha noticed Eureka staring and signaled her over with her finger. Eureka walked over slowly. Martha patted the palm of her hands on her stomach, "Come here. Listen closely." Eureka came up and lightly placed her head upon Martha's stomach. She could hear a slight noise. It was warm to her face. She jumped back as she felt a sudden movement in the stomach. "It moved!?!" She gasped.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Renton followed Will through a twisting path of pines trees and grass.

"Can I ask you something?" Renton asked Will.

"Sure."

"When did your wife get better?"

"Just about one month ago. It was weird though, a bunch of stuff crashed down from the sky."

"So all those broken towers by your house were caused that?"

"Yeah."

"How come it didn't hit your place?"

"I told you before. If you resist the power of the land, it will eventually overcome you. The stuff just flew straight over my house."

"Oh," Renton thought about what Will said about Martha. "Wait… Your wife was pregnant when I first came here!?"

"Yeah. While we were on our journey here, she wanted a baby."

"Wha.." Renton decided not to ask. The thought was too funny that he chuckled. Will noticed him laughing but did not know why. "You are one strange boy." Will said.

Turning the corner of the road, they came upon the hot spring. "Here we are!" Will said, "Just put your clothes on the rocks over there and soak in! Hurry though, 5 minutes is all we can take." With that, both of them stripped down to their underclothes and walked slowly into the hot spring, making sure not to trip and burn their faces. Renton flinched as the warm water touched his bullet wound, but soon the pain ebbed away.

They sat there, staring off into the clear blue sky. "It's so peaceful…" Renton thought to himself. He threw up his hand and began closing it into a fist, finger by finger. "Father Finger, Mother, Brother, sister…" He closed his eyes. He missed everyone. Grandpa, Gekko-State team, the kids, he wanted to see all their faces again. He opened his eyes and closed them again. Flashbacks of the Nirvash flooded his vision. "Live on...on this planet. Live together, and show the way to all life on the planet." Flashbacks of the Scrab Coral breaking up and the Nirvash filled his mind. "Not all life will remain on this planet. Half will come along with us. But Renton, Eureka, If you two return to the planet and further evolution by two becoming one, We will one day return before you." Renton opened his eyes, ending the flashbacks. "It's a promise, Nirvash!"

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"How did you get a baby?" Eureka asked Martha. "No one ever told you?" Eureka shook her head. Martha laughed. "Well, it all starts with – "

Martha and Eureka looked over to the door as they heard footsteps. Two men dressed in black suits stepped in. "We found her." One of them said in a coarse voice. They began advancing and laughed coarsely, "Don't bother calling out to your lover. He's being taken care of."

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Renton and Will finished bathing and were on the way back. Only Will noticed something was wrong. The forest was strangely quiet. Suddenly the bushes rustled and two men in black suits jumped out, one grabbing Will and the other grabbing Renton. Will, being alert, quickly slipped out of the man's grip and knocked out the guy with one chop on the man's neck. Renton, being experienced with fighting Holland, quickly stomped his foot down on the man's foot causing him to release his grip. Seeing an opening, Renton quickly tackled the man to the ground. "You're too late." The man said before he passed out. A scream cut through the air. "Eureka!" "Martha!" Renton and Will yelled and sprinted back to the house as fast as they could.

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Martha and Eureka were picking up anything they could get their hands on and threw them at the advancing intruders. "Can't we just kill them?" one of the men said. "No, we need her alive for Dewey's plans." The other one replied. They were slowed down a bit by the barrage from Eureka and Martha. One of the men in black suits jumped through and grabbed Eureka. He quickly hit her across the back of her head causing her to slump down to the ground. "Renton…" She said before her vision faded to darkness. "Got her, finish the rest here." The man said and disappeared with Eureka. "No problem." The other man chuckled and advanced on Martha. He slapped Martha across the face, making her fall backwards. He took out a small pistol and pointed it at Martha. "Now die…" He said but stopped; he heard footsteps quickly advancing. He turned to face the door and stumbled backwards as Will charged into him. "Ugh" with that the man passed out. "Martha, are you OK?" Will asked. "Y-yes, but they took Eureka!" she answered. "Dammit… Dammit.. dammit… DAMMIT!" Renton yelled as he pounded the floor. He ran up to the unconscious man, held him by the collar, and shook him. "Tell me where Eureka is!" The man opened his eyes and laughed. "You won't find her even if you searched all of Gianas." Renton dropped the man. "Gianas… That's close to here." Renton began packing up things and picked up Eureka's backpack. He winced a bit because of his shoulder. "Renton," Will called while holding a book in his hands, "See you later, I'll show you Martha's book when you finish what you have to do." With that, he shook hands with Renton and handed him a pack of food. "Martha wants you to have this." Renton nodded. "Thanks." with that he waved goodbye and left the cottage. "Eureka, I'm coming!" 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Holland," Talho called, "There's been reports of a boy and girl with wings traveling together to Gianas." "Do you think its Renton and Eureka?" Holland questioned. "Bakka, of course it's them!" Talho scolded. Holland smirked, "Alright, Moondoggie, set course for Gianas!" Moondoggie pulled down on the wheel, causing the Gekko-Go ship to ascend. "Y-Yes sir!" The ship picked up speed and soon the ground became small and blurred. Holland signaled Hap over, "Prepare the weapons, there might be some trouble." Hap nodded and turned, "You know that the LFO's aren't prepared for fighting yet." Holland rubbed his temples, "I know that." Gidget announced to the crew, "We are now one mile away. What…?" She began tapping the screen. "Um, trapar levels appear to be very unstable and low..." The ship rocked suddenly causing everyone to fall. Hap regained his balanced and looked over to Holland. "What happened?" Holland cursed, "Damn it, the trapar is unstable here, probably because of the Scrab Coral breaking up about a month ago." Talho gritted her teeth, "Moondoggie! Lower the ship! Hurry!"

"But-"  
"JUST DO IT!"

Everyone braced themselves as the ship rocked back and forth while descending. The landing was not as smooth as Moondoggie wanted. The Gekko-Go bounced and skidded from the impact and created chaos on the ship. All the crewmembers screamed as the ship skid to a stop. "Whew…" Holland sighed and swiped off the sweat on his forehead. "Matthieu, Hilda, and Hap come with me town." He walked to Matthieu and Hilda and handed them pistols. "Use them only when necessary. You two will go together in the blue LFO. All our LFO's are in no condition to fight so try to avoid battles." Holland walked up to Hap who was cocking his SMG. Holland grabbed the automatic gun and placed a pistol in Hap's hands. "SMGs will blow our cover. Remember the message from Jurgens? There are groups out there that are still a potential danger to us. Anyways, you'll be going with me in the orange LFO." He turned to the rest of the crew, "Alright, the rest of you watch the ship and wait for us to get back! Talho, you're in command while I'm gone." Talho smirked, "Gotcha, just come back in one piece!" The hatch of the ship lowered as two LFOs sped out, their wheels throwing up clouds of dust as they headed towards the city.

Within two minutes, they arrived at the entrance of the city. The city was smashed up and had obvious signs of poverty. "What the hell? The city was never like this before." Matthieu whispered. Holland's face appeared on his LFO monitor, "It was one of the cities that had a tower that was destroyed. Anyways, we are looking for Renton and Eureka. You and Hilda cover the West side. Hap and I will cover the East side. By the way, park your LFOs somewhere because walking through town them will cause some problems." They parked their LFOs and continued into the city on foot.

Renton walked into Gianas. "Eureka! Eureka! EUREKA!" He yelled as he ran around the town. A familiar voice caught his attention. "Hey Renton." Holland called. "Hey kid, how are you?" Hap said. "Fine." Renton said in a low voice. Holland looked around, "Where's Eureka?" Renton's eyes met Holland's.

"She's not here! She was taken away by some people!"

"What!? Who did this?"

"How should I know!?"

Holland sighed; He knew something was happening. "_Could this be the doings of my brother?" _He thought to himself. "Hap," Holland called, "Tell the crew what's happen. Ask Woz to search for a location where there has been activity recently." They all sat down on the curb, Renton was still unhappy. He began to talk in a low voice. "After all we have been through… Why!?"

In a firm voice, Holland reassured him, "Renton, get a grip. We're gonna go rescue her and we can't do that if you're like this." Renton looked up, a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. Holland sighed and handed Renton a Glock18, "Here, use it only when necessary." Woz's voice called out of the walkie-talkie in Holland's hands, "Found the location, it's just North of you, a quarter mile way. It's in some kind of old underground apartment." Holland smiled and called Matthieu and Hilda, "We found them, and I'm sending the coordinates over to you. Position yourself at the entrance of the building. Also, prepare your weapons." The five arrived at the entrance of the building. At first glance, the building did appear old and not in use, but after close inspection, it was obvious that it's been under recent activities.

Hap pulled on the door handle. "It's not opening." Holland walked up to the door and began kicking it. It crashed down with a loud boom. "Now it is." Holland smirked at his handiwork. Suddenly a blaring beep rang throughout the building. "Damn it! Hilda and Matthieu guard this entrance, Hap and Renton follow me!" Everyone had a look of bewilderment on their faces. Holland, Hap, and Renton ran in the building. Soon after running in, Hap, Holland, and Renton heard gunfire outside. They ran into a group of three surprised guardsmen. Within three seconds, they were all dead, each with a bullet through their head by Holland. Being the ace of the SOFs, Holland took down the guards with little resistance. The three turned a corner, barely dodging a hail of lead. "Damn, there must be 10 guys down there!" Holland cursed, "Renton, continue on and get Eureka! Hap and I will handle things here!" Renton ran on, yelling over his shoulder, "I'll be back with Eureka!" Renton ran down the hallway, he could hear Holland firing he pistol. "Eureka! EUREKA! Where are you!?!" He called out as he ran. He skidded to a stop at a door and yanked it open. "Eureka!" He gasped, ran up to her, grabbed her shoulders and shook lightly. She was tied to a chain, which was connected to the wall. Renton pulled but it would not budge. He flipped out Holland's pistol, pulled the trigger and blew the chains off. "Eureka, I'm here!" Her body was limp in his hands and no reply came from her. "Eureka!?" He hugged her; she was not warm as she was before. Instead, she was cold and clammy. She was still breathing but faintly. "Renton…" She whispered faintly. "Hang on, Eureka. We're going to get you out of this dreadful place." Renton gently put her onto his back. Something was wrong though; the gunfire had stopped.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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Eureka's POV right after she was kidnapped.

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Eureka regained consciousness after being knocked out. Some man dressed in black was carrying her over the shoulder. He was sprinting as quickly as he could. Eureka had a feeling that he was a bad person. Gathering all her strength, she kicked the man between the legs. He toppled over and sent Eureka flying to the ground. The man got back up and yelled, "Smart-ass huh!?" He took out a syringe full of sleeping drugs. He advanced to Eureka. "No!" She yelled and swung her foot at the man's leg causing him to fall over. The man quickly pounced onto Eureka. They struggled for a moment but the man over powered Eureka and stuck the needle into her. Within seconds, she was unconscious. "_Where are they taking me…? Where… where… and why…" _She thought as she passed out again.

Eureka woke up to find herself in some kind of dark room. She tried to get up but the drugs had made her weak, even worse, she was chained up to the wall. The chains dug into her wrists and caused them to bleed. "_My vision…I can't focus it."_She thought asshe struggled to get out of the chains. A voice cackled into the air. "So you're awake now huh? Let's see how you like being kicked!" The same man that carried emerged out of the darkness. He chuckled, "I'm so bad, beating up a girl!" and kicked her once on the side causing Eureka to let out a cry of pain. The man let out an evil laugh, "HAHAHA! Who knew kicking you could be so fun!" He began rapidly kicking Eureka. She tried to block with her arms but got them bruised instead. He kicked her arms aside and threw one kick at her face. Blood trickled down from the wounds. Suddenly, the alarm rang. "Damn it, I was having so much fun." He said as he ran out of the room.

Eureka wiped the blood away. Her body hurt all over. She could barely move now. Numbness began to take over her body before she fainted. Eureka could hear a distant voice calling her name. "Eureka! EUREKA! Where are you!?" '_Who is it? Renton?_' She thought. The sound of the door being thrown open sounded in her ears. "Eureka, I'm here!" She heard Renton yell. She could feel him hug her. "Renton…" Eureka passed out because it was too much of a strain on her body.

-----------------------------------------

The door swung open. Renton turned around to see who it was. Standing in the doorway was Eureka's tormentor. "Well, well, well… Look at what the cat dragged in. Renton Thurston! Noticed the artwork I done to your girlfriend?" Renton quickly placed Eureka down and examined her closely. He gasped at the various bruises and cuts all over her body. His eyes narrowed, "What did you do to her!?" The man sneered, "Nothing except for kicking her." The comment caused Renton's temper to boil. It was one of the rare moments that he wished for the man to be dead. "Oh, hit a soft spot did I?" The man laughed. Renton could not hold his anger back any longer. He clenched his hands and teeth together and jumped at the man.

The man laughed and kicked Renton, sending him flying backwards. "Dewey will promote me now that I got you two!" The man cackled as Renton flipped back up, "Holland's brother… Isn't he dead?" Renton asked. The man laughed shrilly, "HAHAHA! My master doesn't die that pathetically!" He began to advance on Renton. Renton braced himself, threw out a punch only to have it blocked. The man sent series of powerful blows at Renton. Renton blocked the first few hits. On the sixth blow, however, his arms gave away. The blow hit him straight on the nose and sent him soaring backwards into the wall. Eureka recovered from unconsciousness and looked around. She gasped as the guy held Renton up by the collar. "_I must do something!" _She thought and drew together all her strength. She quickly got up and charged into the man, causing him to drop Renton. The man recovered from the attack and kicked Eureka back. "Bitch!" The man yelled.

Renton saw his chance to take the person out; he quickly rolled under the man and shoved him against the wall. The man slumped down as his head impacted against the wall with a dull thud. Renton took deep breadths and then ran over to Eureka. "Eureka! Are you ok?" Renton asked.

"I think so… but I can't seem to move."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here and back to the Gekko-Go."

He slung Eureka's limp body over his back and walked out into the hallway. The walkie-talkie crackled as Holland's voice sounded, "Hey Renton! Get out of there now! We can't hold much longer!" Renton started running out the place, twisting and turning through the hallway. He just barely turned the corner when bullets whizzed pass him and a voice that called out, "There he is!"

Renton ran and finally reached the entrance where Holland, Mattieu, Hilda, and Hap waited. Behind Renton was a platoon of soldiers charging at full speed. "NOW!" Holland yelled. A rapid beeping followed and then an explosion collapsed the entrance. Everyone ran up to Renton and Eureka, each greeting them in their own way. "You're back in one piece and with Eureka too!" Holland congratulated Renton. Hap observed Eureka a bit, "Whoa, Eureka looks wasted. Anyways, we need to get out of here now!" With that, he led the team around the corner where the two LFOs waited. Matthieu and Hilda brought them there from earlier. Everyone squeezed into the cockpits, leaving Renton and Eureka their own cockpit. They quickly sped off and were out of the city in less than a few minutes. Woz's face appeared on Holland's monitor, "Get out now! They are coming!" Within a few more minutes, everyone was safely on the Gekko-Go ship. The ship blasted off, at full throttle, away from the dreadful city.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

On the Gekko-Go

With Holland's help, Renton rushed Eureka to the infirmary. They rammed through the door, finding a surprised Mischa. "What's going on? Renton!?!" She gasped as she looked at Eureka. "Get her on that bed now!" The two responded immediately and placed Eureka onto the bed. "Will she be alright?" Renton asked. Mischa rapidly eyed Eureka and felt her forehead, "I don't know. She is badly wounded and has a high fever right now. Her heart rate and breathing is irregular also." Mischa noticed the worry on Renton's face and tried to comfort him. "Don't worry; she'll be alright under my care." Holland tried comforting Renton too. "Yeah, plus she's an SOF. She's tough." Renton held Eureka's hands. "Please get better, Eureka." He whispered into her ears. Mischa walked over to the counter and took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Alright boys, get out of the room now." Holland and Renton looked up, "Why?" they said in unison. "Guys can't see girls when they are changing." Mischa replied as she applied the rubbing alcohol on Eureka's cuts. Renton protested, "But I can help!" Mischa sighed, "Just get out. You can visit her later." Renton was going to argue but instead sighed and walked out of the infirmary. Mischa's eyes darted over to Holland, "You too." He chuckled, "I'm older and more mature so I can stay."

"Never the less, you have to leave."

"Eureka is like a daughter to me!"

"I said no!"

Holland stopped badgering Mischa when veins began to pop out of her forehead. "Alright, alright! Just don't kill me!" Holland said as he left the room. Renton was sitting in the hallway. Holland sighed, "Go refill the supply in the store." Renton didn't move and quietly said, "I failed to protect her…" Holland pulled Renton up by the collar, "Get a grip! It's no use when you sulk around like this! Go refill the supply and come to me when you're done." With that, Holland dropped Renton and walked down the hallway. Renton sighed and trudged to the store. His job in the Gekko-Go was same as it was before. Renton walked up to the counter and sat down on the chair. He looked around, grabbed a bag of chips and began eating. He went through one bag of junk food chips before he felt like he was wasting time. Hap walked in and exclaimed, "Renton! So you're the one who's been eating all my chips before!" Renton stared at Hap and pulled out the papers with people's tabs. "Go ask Moondoggie." He said and tossed the paper over to Hap. He studied the sheet closely, "Hey, what do you know… it has been Moondoggie." Renton resumed chomping down on the chips. Hap left, yelling over his shoulder, "Holland wants to see you. Meet him by the shower rooms by the main deck." Renton threw away the rest of the bag. Food never filled in the gap in his heart whenever Eureka is not doing well. Renton arrived at the shower room and saw Holland in one of the walk-in showers. The entire room was steamy and hot. "Hey, Renton! Take a shower, you smell bad." Holland called. Renton sniffed his armpits, which smelled. He undressed himself and got into one of the shower robes. Holland signaled for Renton to sit down on the bench. "So, tell me what happened after you rescued Eureka." Holland asked. Renton told him all the events they went through. After Renton finished, they sat in silence for a while. "So how far did you guys go?" Holland questioned Renton.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"All you and Eureka did was kiss?"

"Of course!"

"Really?"

"What does that mean!?!"

"Hmm… you guys did it didn't you!?!

"WHAT!?!"

"You have!. I can tell from your face."

Renton's face was beet red. "No!! You got it all wrong!! We aren't even that close yet!" Holland was suspicious, "Sure…tell me the truth!" and then he jumped at Renton, knocking him down. "THAT IS THE TRUTH!" Renton yelled through gritted teeth. Holland didn't believe him and continued to grapple with him but then stopped. Holland sighed, "Alright, I believe you." Renton was about to sit down on the bench but then slipped on a soap bar that was lying around. His head bumped against the wall, knocking him out. "Hey Renton! Are you Ok?" Holland asked and walked up to Renton. He too slipped on a soap bar. "Ahh!" He gasped before his head smashed into the ground. Both men were out cold and could do nothing as the shower room got hotter and steamier.

Moondoggie walked into the room for his daily shower. "Huh, who's that?" He questioned himself and walked over. A scream rang throughout the ship. "What the hell was that?" Talho thought as she ran towards the source. She reached the showers and ran in. "Moondoggie! What's wrong!?!"

"Renton and Holland died!" Moondoggie stuttered.

Talho quickly inspected the two bodies and signaled Moondoggie. With Moondoggie's help, Talho dragged out an unconscious Holland and Renton. Talho exhaled loudly, "Guys and their great stupidity." Renton and Holland were stacked on each other upon the couch. Both were too weak to move a muscle even when Stoner came in and took many pictures. "Damn, I'll get you for this Stoner…" Holland said quietly. Even the kids came and took advantage of them. "I'll draw on Papa!" Linck cried in joy. The kids laughed at their prank. By the end of the day, both Renton and Holland had their body covered with pictures and their hair done in a weird style.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

During the entire week, Eureka was in the infirmary and Renton and the kids would visit every day. Renton was glad that Eureka was getting better. "Renton!" Maeter called as she ran into the room. Renton stopped restacking the supplies and turned around. "What is it?" Maeter took out a mechanical duck. "Can you fix this? Linck sat on it and now it won't move anymore." Linck jumped out from behind the door and protested, "No I didn't!" The kids started to bicker but Renton stopped them with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, it's very easy to fix." He ran up to the counter and took out a screwdriver. He unscrewed the bottom of the duck. "See?" He showed it to Linck and Maeter. "All I need to do is turn the gear back a little bit… and there!" The duck began quacking and moving. "Yay!" Linck and Maeter cheered. Renton laughed and asked them, "Where's your brother?" Maeter replied, "He's visiting mama." Renton finished restocking the supplies. "Come on, let's go visit too." He said as he ushered them out.

They walked into the infirmary; Maurice was happily talking with Eureka who was fully dressed in the dress she usually wore. They all ran up and hugged Eureka. "Mischa said that I'm healthy enough to walk around again." Eureka said after everyone stopped hugging her. Renton shouted out, "That's great!" Mischa had taken special care to Eureka, giving her the latest medical cream and antibiotics. There were no scars left behind by the beating she took a week ago either. Everyone walked out of the infirmary holding each other's hands. They walked all the way to the bridge. There, Holland and Talho greeted them. "We're going to land soon to refuel and buy grocery. Why don't you guys join us?" Renton and Eureka looked at each other and smiled. The kids jumped up and cheered. "Alright!" They cried enthusiastically.

The ship descended and landed just outside of the town. Gidget and Moondoggie refueled the ship while Holland, Talho, Renton, Eureka, and the kids entered the city. Unlike the previous cities they have been to, this one was clean and untouched by damage. They walked all the way to the town center. "Why don't you guys go enjoy the afternoon with each other?" Holland said. With that, the group split and went different direction. Renton, Eureka, Maurice, Linck, Maeter walked around looking at the various stores. "I want some candy!" Maeter called out as they walked near a candy vendor. "Ok, just one. Do you want some too, Maurice, Linck?" They nodded and ran up to the old man behind the candy cart. "Let's see…" Renton opened up his wallet and gave the money to the old man, "They want some candy." The old man had an expression of shock on his face. "Yo-You're Renton Thurston! And you must be Eureka!" The old man exclaimed. Renton scratched his head and was a bit embarrased, "Yeah, we are." The old man smiled. "Here you go kids." He said as he handed the three children three lollipops the size of their hand. "You won't have to pay, consider it a present." The family bowed, thanked the man, waved good-bye, and walked on. They passed by a flower shop. Renton looked at the shop and ran in while yelling, "I'll be right back!" He was back out within moments with a small pink rose in his hands. "It's for you, Eureka." He said as he placed it into her hair. "It looks nice." He said. Eureka blushed, "Thanks, Renton." The family continued walking, stopping here and there to check the displays.

A trio of punk kids walked out in front of them. They were swerving back and forth slightly because they were drunk. "Whoa, check out the chick with the wings." The one with green spikes for hair said in a slurred low voice. Renton stepped in front of Eureka who wrapped her arms around the children. They slowly walked in a circle and surrounded the five. One of the punks with a pink Mohawk grabbed Eureka's wrist and pulled her off the ground. The children jumped back and Renton spun around. The rose fell down and was crushed by the man's boots. "Let her go!" Renton and Maurice yelled. The punk took a sniff of Eureka, "She smells good!" He bent the tip of her wing causing her to let out a cry of pain. "Mama!" the children cried. "Eureka!" Renton shouted. The man laughed and exclaimed, "And she's a noisy one too!" Renton turned to Maeter and Linck, "Go get Holland and Talho!" Maeter and Linck ran back the way they came as quickly as they could. Suddenly, the pink hair man grabbed Renton and put him into an arm lock. Maurice bashed the punk with his shoulder. Renton took the advantage of the opening and pushed the pink haired man back.

Renton eyed Maurice and nodded. Maurice nodded in reply. He charged at the punk with drooping black hair and Renton pounced onto the pink hair man. A scream came from Eureka; the Mohawk man had his tongue out and was trying to kiss her. "I'm gonna have so much fun with you at home!" The man laughed. "Eureka!" Renton yelled as he kicked the pink haired punk in the stomach causing him to crumple over. Maurice was having trouble though. The man was twice his size. Maurice managed to land a few punches on the man but was kicked back. "Maurice!" Renton cried and jumped onto the man with drooping black hair. The man dodged Renton's punch and kneed him in the stomach causing him to topple over. A loud smack rang through; Eureka slapped the man across the face. He was shocked and loosened his grip on Eureka. The Mohawk punk yelled, pulled out a 5 inch knife and began advancing on her, "That's it! Now I'm pissed! I'll gonna skin you then have fun with you!" Eureka's eyes narrowed as she scrambled back. She didn't understand a thing he said but she knew he meant to harm her. "Eureka!" Renton yelled. "Dammit!" and he said as he duck below a punch the drooping black haired punk threw. He quickly jabbed up with his fist, hitting the man squarely on the chin and sent him flying backwards. Renton quickly turned to face Eureka and gasped. Eureka was backed into a wall and the man had his arms raised above his head. In his hand was the knife pointing downwards at Eureka who was in too much shock to move.

Time appeared to slow down. "Eureeeekaaa!!" Renton screamed as he jumped at the pink Mohawk man. The man stopped and turned his head. Renton rammed into his ribs. The knife clattered on the concrete ground as the man flew sideways into the wall, his head impacted against the wall causing him to pass out. Renton quickly ran up to Eureka and pulled her up. "Eureka! Are you OK!?!" She hugged him with her face pressed against his chest. "Yeah, I'm ok." She whispered as she looked up into Renton's blue eyes. She closed her eyes as their lips inched nearer and nearer. "HEY!" Maurice cried before they made contact. "We gotta get out of here now!" All around, the punks were groaning and getting up. "Run!" Renton yelled as he grabbed Eureka and Maurice's hands.

They ran back the way they came with the three punks trailing closely behind. They had all taken out their knives and each of them was extremely pissed off. Eureka tripped and skidded her knees. "Keep running Maurice!" Renton yelled as he helped Eureka get up. Maurice hesitantly continued running. Eureka wrapped her arm over Renton's shoulders for support. "Well well well. Look what the tide brought in. Two dead birds!" The Mohawk man screamed. The Trio advanced forward as Eureka limped back with Renton's help. A candy cart swiftly crashed into the punks. "Go! Run! I'll slow them down!" The candy man yelled as he ran up with a broomstick. Eureka and Renton were shocked but quickly recovered. Renton nodded at the old candy man and ran on with Eureka. "You punks should have never robbed me!" The candy man screamed as he started beating them with the broomstick. They quickly overpowered him and ran after Renton and Eureka. The old man flipped out his cell phone and dialed 911. "Hurry! There is trouble at the town square!"

Eureka and Renton reached the town square. A chilling laugh came from the three men behind them. "Looks like one of the birds broke thier wings!" Eureka gasped; tears were forming in her eyes. "Renton..." Renton embraced her and covered her. "Don't worry, I'll protect you!" He whispered as the men advanced. "Aww how cute! Too bad, when we're through, you guys will just be a bloody pile of pieces!" They yelled as the tossed the knife to their other hand and back. They stopped advancing. Holland charged at them while yelling, "Keep your dirty hands off them!" Holland quickly kneed the drooping black hair man down into the ground. The punk with pink spikey hair swung his knife out at Holland. Holland dodged it and did a sliding kick into the punks leg, knocking him over. Police sirens sounded and police cars surrounded the town center. The remaining punk let out a cry, dropped his knife and ran. Two police officers nailed him down. "Let's get out of here! Just Follow me!" Holland shouted at Eureka and Renton. They ran and ran, twisting through an endless maze of alleys. They reached the entrance of the city and boarded the Gekko-Go. Maurice, Maeter, and Linck ran up and hugged them. Talho walked over and hugged Holland. "Geez, those kids always get into trouble." She said. "I know. I know." Holland softly said.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It has been one week since they left the town where they met the trio of punks. The ship had enough food and fuel to last a month. Every day, Renton and Eureka would cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the crew. Each day was a different meal, partly because Renton found many cookbooks lying around. About three days ago, he questioned Hap about the books. Hap quietly whispered to him that during the month Eureka and Renton were away, Moondoggie and many other crewmembers attempted to make food. It did not turn out to well; the soup would be ice cold and every meal resulted in an onset of diarrhea.

The entire crew except Holland and Talho came into the room next to the kitchen. Renton and Eureka walked out with steaming bowls of Pho. "Yay!" the children cheered as they sat down on the small table. "Ooh! That looks great!" Matthieu complemented after he and Hilda sat down on the couch. Renton handed them their bowl of noodles and returned to the kitchen to get the other bowls. Eureka placed a big bowl of noodles down on the table the children sat. "Be careful because it's hot." She said as she split the noodles into three smaller bowls. "Mama, what is this called?" Maeter questioned. Renton came back out at that time and answered in place of Eureka who went back into the kitchen. "I found this recipe in an old cookbook that was lying around." Renton said as he handed Moondoggie and Gidget their bowl. "Thanks Renton." Moondoggie said as he pulled out two stools; one for him and the other for Gidget. Renton continued, "It's a type of soup made by the Vietnamese a long time ago." Maeter was interested. "Who are they?" She questioned further. Renton scratched his head. "I don't know. Maybe they were some kind of species back then?"

By the time Renton finished explaining to Maeter, Eureka had finished handing everyone their bowl. Ken-Goh and Mischa ate on the couch along with Matthieu and Hilda. Moondoggie and Gidget ate on stools while Woz and Jobs ate their noodles standing. "Oh shoot! I forgot the sauce!" Renton exclaimed as he ran back into the kitchen. In less than a minute, Renton came back out with two bottles in his hands; one was black-brown while the other was red. "Put these into your noodles; they make it taste better. The red one will add spice while the black-brown one adds sweetness." He explained as he handed Woz and Jobs the bottles. "Oh! It tastes better now!" Jobs exclaimed after he squirted the black-brown sauce on. Woz tried the red one, applying small amounts here and there. "Hmmm! The red one great too!" Woz complemented. Soon, everyone wanted to put the sauce into their soup. "Mama, I want some too!" Linck said as he tugged on Eureka's skirt. "Me too!" Maeter and Maurice cried. Eureka smiled and gave each of them a spoonful of the brown sauce. She stirred the sauce around causing the water to turn darker. "Wow..." Maeter and Linck said in awe. Hap grabbed the red bottle and called over to Renton. "Hey Renton! Watch this!"

"Uh! Wait...!" But it was too late. Hap had already squirted a pile of the red sauce and had taken a bit. "This is how a man eats!" Hap said through the mouthful of noodles. "That was good!" Hap thought. A fiery feeling begun to dance around on his tongue. "Ahh! It burns!" He screamed. "Give me water! Hurry before I melt!" Renton quickly grabbed a water bottle and tossed it at Hap. Hap chugged down the water in one gulp. It did not put out the fire in his mouth though. "More!" He yelled after he finished. The crew cheered him on. "One!... Two!... Three!!...Four!...Five!!...Six!!!!...Seven!!!!" Hap went through seven bottles of water before the fiery feeling went away.

Moondoggie finally received the brown bottle. He squeezed but nothing except air came out. "Dang it!" He exclaimed as he rapidly squeezed the bottle. After a minute of intensive pressing, brown goop sputtered out. Accompanied with it was a sound, "PPPHOOT-PPPHT." Gidget, who was sitting next to him, scooted her chair away. "The bottle did that!" Moondoggie defended as the feasting crew stared. Gidget teased him and said in a dramatic voice, "Oh Moondoggie! What's that bad smell coming from you!?!" Everyone laughed and even Eureka and Renton chuckled quietly as they went back into the kitchen and washed the dishes. Hap walked in and sighed, "Thanks for the food. I can't eat anymore though. Too much water." Renton looked up, "Don't worry, we'll save some for you." Hap opened his eyes wider. "Thanks!" He cried enthusiastically. "Why don't you guys go eat? I'll do the dishes for you." Renton looked at Eureka and shrugged. They got a bowl of the Vietnamese noodles and ate on the tables at the back of the kitchen. "It's good." Renton said quietly. "Yeah." Eureka said. They munched on silently for a while. "By the way, where's Holland?" Renton asked. Eureka shrugged, "I don't know, but he said something about preparing for an activity." Just then, a loud crash sounded from the living room.

Eureka and Renton ran out and were surprised to see Holland. He was juggling a soccer ball on his legs and wore a green Gekko-Go soccer outfit too. "Alright, we are going to practice some soccer!" He yelled. Everyone in the room groaned. Hap ran in the kitchen and brought out a bowl of noodles. "Try some Holland." Holland glared at him, "Are you trying to stop me with food?" Hap nodded. Holland took the bowl from Hap's hands and took a bite. The room became quiet as Holland chewed the food. He swallowed and smiled, "This is great! Practice will be delayed for another 20 minutes." The crew cheered, Eureka and Renton smiled at each other. The delay ended up being an hour because Holland entranced into eating that he forgot about everything else.

"Ok, everyone I'll call up will line up on the wall." Holland said. "Why are we doing this?" Matthieu questioned. Holland sighed, "It's to get into shape for our match!" Everyone had a puzzled look on their face. "I'll explain later." He sighed and began naming off people. "Hap." Hap groaned and trudged over to the wall. Holland continued, "Matthieu and Hilda." They walked up to the wall. Matthieu complained, "Aww, that's not cool Leader." Holland ignored him and continued, "Moondoggie and Gidget." They walked up and groaned quietly. "Woz and Jobs." Holland called. They too walked up but did not complain. "And last up, Renton and Eureka." They looked at each other in the eyes and walked up while holding hands. Those that weren't called up cheered, thanked Renton and Eureka for the meal and exited the room. The children were bored and decided to play tag. "Bye Bye, mama, papa!"They yelled as they speed out of the room.

Holland walked down the line and bellowed, "Alright! Let's start out with 100 jumping Jacks!" He began jumping while moving his arms and legs apart and back. People followed his example. At first they were out of sync but after 40 jumping jacks, they were synchronized. "Ok, now 100 push-ups!" Holland said as he dropped to the floor and did push-ups. No one followed this time because they were watching Holland. Holland completed 100 push-ups. Everyone was slack-jawed. "Wow…" Matthieu said. "Now it's your turn!" Holland shouted. The crew dropped to the ground and did push-ups. Because of lack of exercise, Hap only completed 20. Matthieu completed 70 and Hilda completed 60. Moondoggie finished 80 while Gidget completed 40. Renton managed to complete 50, partly due to puberty and testosterones causing massive muscle growth. Eureka was less lucky however, she did not gain muscle mass as Renton did because of puberty. She managed to finish 30 in the end. For the rest of the day, the team did drills and jogged around the entire ship. By the end of the day, they were able to work as a team. Not all of them played well, but they were able to communicate well with each other. It was night by the time Holland was satisfied. "Alright! Good Job! Get a good night sleep and tomorrow we will play soccer!" The team was too tired to respond and just laid on the ground, gasping for air.

The next morning was perfect for a game of soccer. The sky was clear, blue and breezy. The ship had landed near a soccer field during the night. The Gekko-State was going to play against the team they played a long time ago. Holland remembered that he promised to play against them and win. This time, however, they will be playing as a team instead as individuals as they did before. "Holland!" Talho called, "They said that they will be here in 10 minutes!" Holland smiled, "Alright! Wake everyone up and get them dressed!" All around the ship, a blaring alarm rang, waking everyone up with a jolt. "Everyone get dressed and meet outside the ship!" Holland's voice boomed.

The Gekko-State team arrived at the soccer field. The other team was already there and warmed up. Holland had set up a plan for them. "Gidget, Matthieu, and Hilda will be defenders. Renton, Moondoggie, Eureka, and I will be the offense. With that, they did a group huddle, cheered out Gekko-State and started the match. The teams were nearly matched but the other team was leading slightly. Hours and hours of game play passed. They were down to their last game. 35-35, the game was tied, and the one to score the next point would win. Holland called another group huddle. "OK, ALL OFFENSE! Eureka and Renton will do the finishing blow. Just do not step on my face again. Let's GO!" Holland yelled and the group broke off into their positions. The other team quickly got past the defense and kicked a ball at the goal. Jobs blocked it and passed it to Woz. Woz quickly dribbled the ball past the first opponent and passed it to Gidget. The other team charged at her. "He-Here Hilda!" Gidget said and passed the ball to Hilda before the other team's player knocked Gidget down. Hilda passed it back and forth with Moondoggie as they advanced forward. "Here!" Moondoggie yelled as he passed it to Holland. "Renton! Get this!" Holland bellowed while passing it over to Renton. Two men were guarding him so he could not do much. "Renton!" Eureka yelled. Renton nodded and kicked the ball at Holland. Holland did not noticed so the ball bounced off his head. Eureka got it instead and head butted it to Renton. The other team rushed at Renton now since he was very close to the goal. Renton saw no openings so he kicked it straight up. Eureka jumped on his shoulders and smacked the ball down into the goal. Renton thought she floated a bit but the thought was soon gone as the Gekko-State team cheered. They shook hands with the opponents and parted their own way.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Dominic and Anemone were on their way to Bellforest. Dominic had the weekend off and decided to meet Renton's Grandpa again. They were traveling on Dominic's motorcycle. Anemone was sitting on the co-seat as she cuddled Gulliver. Dominic noticed how easy it was to pick him up.

"How do you pick him up so easily?"

"He's very light." She said as she tossed the animal over to Dominic. "Wa-Wait! No!" But it was too late. Gulliver landed with a thump on Dominic's arms. The bike swerved and crashed to the side of the road. "My bike!" Dominic cried in anguish. Anemone eyes were focused on the ground as she slowly kicked the dirt at her feet around. "Sorry…" She said quietly. Dominic looked up from his bike and smiled, "Anemone, it's alright. I know someone in town that can fix this." Anemone looked up, smiled, and hugged him. Gulliver stared at them as Dominic's cheeks turned pink. "Come on, the town is only a mile away now." They started moving the bike towards town. Every few minutes, Gulliver would help move the bike with his head. It was dark by the time they reached the edge of the small town. "We need to look for a inn to stay for tonight." Dominic told Anemone.

"Why?"

"Renton's grandpa's house is on the other side of Bellforest I think."

Dominic opened up his map. "Let's see… If we continue North on the main street and then turn East, we should arrive at the motel."

"Ok, let's go." Anemone said. Dominic didn't move. "Um… which way is North?"

Anemone stared at him and laughed. "You don't know how to read a map even though you are part of the intelligence team?" Dominic laughed, "Yeah, the computers did the direction pointing for us."

"Oh, alright then." Anemone said as she led the way. They arrived at the entrance of the motel within five minutes. Dominic walked up to the cashier and paid for a room for two. The man looked closely at Dominic and Anemone. "Try not to bother the people in the next rooms." He said as he handed Dominic the key. Dominic thanked the man and went into the room he paid for. The interior of the room was nicely lit. The bed was a queen size bed with two small fancy lamps on each side. A table sat at the bottom edge of the bed and a bathroom was located to the left. "Wow! This is so cool!" Anemone exclaimed. Dominic laughed, "Yeah, and it was expensive too." Anemone jumped on the bed. The bed was one of the expensive memory foam types. "Wow! This bed feels so good!" She said as she laid back. She got back up and asked Dominic, "Want to go shopping?" Dominic was about to reply but then his cell phone rang. "Uhh…Hold up." He said as he answered the phone. "Lieutenant Dominic Sorel here." Jurgen's voice rang in, "This Monday, I will need you to compile the data we retrieved from Dewey's files."

"Ok, got it. This Monday." Dominic said as he hung up the phone. He turned around as he felt Anemone's arms slip around his waist. She was slightly blushing and was looking off to the side.  
"Um, do you want to go do "it" now?" Dominic's eyes widened in surprise

"Really? You want to do it?" He asked.

"Yeah…Be right back, I'll change into looser clothes. These military suits are a little tight." Anemone said as she skipped into the bathroom.

The door slid shut and was locked with a click. Dominic could not believe what just happened. To him, it was almost like a dream come true. He sat down on the bed and sighed. He knew that he would be breaking the promise to practice abstinence. "Ah, who cares?" Dominic thought. He laid back and rubbed his forehead. "Will Anemone want me to go slow or fast? Which one will make her happier?" At that moment, Anemone burst out of the bathroom. Her hair was tied back and she wore the dress she usually wore.

"Let's go!" She said joyfully. Anemone noticed that Dominic was bothered. "You know, if you don't want to go then you don't have to." Dominic shook his head, "No, I want to do it too." Anemone smiled at what he said. Dominic blushed a little as he slowly said, "Do you want to do it on the bed or on the table?" Anemone looked at him queerly. She did not understand what he meant. "What are you talking about?" She asked slowly and then started laughing. "How can you go shopping on the table or bed!?! You're so funny, Dominic!" Dominic blushed partly because he had misunderstood shopping for "it". "Umm, never mind. Let's go shopping then." He said as gestured his arms at the door. They closed the door behind them and walked out to the city. Dominic smiled and thought, "How stupid of me…"

Dominic and Anemone went site seeing. They window-shopped and bought a few souvenirs. "Hey!" Someone called out to them. The man walked up to Dominic and pointed at Anemone. "She's one of Dewey's followers! Why are you with her!?!"

Dominic calmly said, "Sir, I do not want any trouble here. We'll be on our way."

"She should be dead along with Dewey!" The man hissed as readied his right arm to strike Anemone.

Dominic quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted them around to the man's back. The man cried out in pain. "She's a different person now!" Dominic said while choking on tears. "And if you don't stop, then you'll have to worry about more than your wrist." Dominic let go of the man. The man was about to say something but decided against it. He bowed his head down, "Sorry…" and walked away. Anemone clasped her hands around Dominic's fist. "Thank you…" She said quietly.

The couple walked back to their motel, each worn out by all the walking. Anemone wrapped her arms around Dominic. "Thanks for defending me back there." She quietly said.

"It's nothing." Dominic said as he turned around and looked into Anemone's purple eyes. Their face inched closer but then Dominic's phone rang and interrupted their moment. "Yes?" Dominic answered impatiently. Jurgan's voice popped in, "We have some info that Dewey was playing with new cloning technology. We'll need to you analyze it more though." Dominic sighed, "Ok then." He placed the phone down and turned to Anemone. "Now where were we?" Their face nearly made contact when Dominic heard someone laughing. "What the hell?" He said and turned to the phone. His mouth dropped open. On the screen was everyone on the Izumo. "Oh shoot! I forgot to turn off the phone." He said as he quickly picked up the phone and snapped it shut. He turned around to Anemone. She had lost interest and wanted to do something else. "Let's go make dinner." Dominic sighed, "Alright then."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Dominic woke up. "Ugh…" He groaned. "What happened yesterday?" He thought quietly to himself. He looked around. The room was slightly out of order. Plates littered the table. Gulliver was sleeping at the end of the bed and Anemone slept peacefully to the right of him. Dominic smiled and quietly talked to himself. "Yeah, now I remember. We were up so late having fun. The manager even came and told us to shut up." He chuckled and continued talking quietly. "We shouldn't have played the Playstation 1000." Dominic pulled out his phone and flipped it open. "Huh, a text message." He typed in his password and read the message. "Message from Captain Jurgens." The screen displayed. "We found some info that Dewey had a small base in Bellforest. Please investigate and report back to us." The message stopped and displayed, "End of Message." Dominic sighed and shifted his fingers through Anemone's silky hair. He kissed her on the forehead and started packing. Dominic placed a bulletproof vest under his black military suit and strapped his trusty pistol to his side. He looked at the mirror, nodded, and placed his boots and hat on. He was about to leave the hotel room when Anemone placed her hand on his shoulder. "Take me with you." She said quietly as she rested her head on Dominic's back. "I can't, it'll be dangerous." Anemone held him harder, "Please, Dominic?"

Dominic sighed; he knew that something dangerous might happen. However, if he left her here, something else might happen; such as that one time he went away to find another person for her position. He exhaled loudly, "Alright, you can come along." With that, Anemone changed into her military outfit and they left the building. They walked around the town for a few minutes. It was still very early in the morning so no one was outside. They finally reach their destination. Dominic flipped out his phone to confirm their position. "Yup, this is the right place." He said as he observed the building. It was a rusty old warehouse. With graffiti on the walls and cracked windows, it looked abandoned. The door was chained shut. Dominic pulled out his pistol and screwed on his silencer. He aimed at the chain and pulled the trigger. The chains broke and slipped off. "Let's go." He said and pushed on the door, which slowly creaked open. Dominic and Anemone walked into the darkness. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust but once it did, they can tell the room was vastly empty. Dominic sneezed and covered his nose. Anemone covered her nose, "It's very dusty and has a bad stench."

"Yeah… Look, I will go check that computer. It might have useful information." Dominic said and walked up to the computer and switched it on. "Dewey!?! He's still alive!?!" Anemone gasped. Dominic shook his head, "No, it's an old recording." Anemone let out a sigh,_"Thank goodness it's an old recording." _she thought. Dewey began talking,

"Do you have it ready yet?" Dewey said.

"Yes sir." A voice rang in.

"Excellent, move the clone out of there as soon as possible."

"Will do."

The message ended. Anemone was extremely confused, "_Clone? What was he up to?" _She thought and glanced over to Dominic. "What? He's messing around with cloning?" He said as his eyes widened. A small beeping noise sounded. It beeped slowly at first and then rapidly sped up. Dominic gasped, "Get down Anemone!" He said as he quickly covered Anemone and pushed her to the ground. The computer exploded into flames. The force sent them flying back a few feet. "Ow…" Dominic groaned as he sat back up. He quickly examined his singed suit and groaned once more. Anemone was unharmed, however, because Dominic protected her. Dominic peered into the darkness; he thought he saw something glint. "What was –" A bullet whizzed past his head. "Damn! Anemone, get down!" He yelled as he pulled out his pistol and shot several rounds at the area the flash came from. A thump sounded as the foe's body hit the ground. Another shot whizzed past Dominic and ricocheted off the ground. "Dammit, there's more than one!" He cried as he fired several more rounds. The rounds did not hit however. "Stop moving dam…!" Two shots hit Dominic squarely in the chest. He groaned and slumped down to the ground. "Dominic! DOMINIC!" Anemone screamed as she shook his body. The man who shot Dominic emerged from the shadows and advanced slowly. "DOMINIC! WAKE UP! Don't leave me!" Anemone yelled as tears welled into her eyes. The man was five feet away from the couple. "Do I terminate them?" The man said into his microphone. "Yes." A familiar voice rang in his ears. The man advanced even closer and raised his pistol. Anemone didn't move, "_Life's not worth it without you, Dominic." _She thought. Dominic's eyes suddenly opened. He quickly shot the surprised man two times, one in the chest and one in the forehead. The man fell backwards and blood pooled out from the gunshot wounds. "Dominic! You're alive!" Anemone cried in joy and wiped away her tears. Dominic pulled of his jacket, revealing his bulletproof vest. He did not expect what Anemone did next though. She slapped him across his right check. The slap echoed throughout the empty room. "Wah-What was that for?" Dominic asked as he rubbed his cheeks. Tears welled up in Anemone's eyes. She hugged and scolded Dominic. "Don't ever leave me like that again!" Dominic smiled and looked into Anemone's pink eyes. "I promise then." A loud explosion was heard from the back of the room. The entire building started shaking. Dominic looked up from Anemone's eyes and pulled her up. "We need to get out of here quickly! The entire building is coming down!" Dominic and Anemone quickly ran towards the entrance of the building. They dived through the doorway just as the building collapsed. "That was too close." Anemone gasped as they got back up. Dominic nodded, "Yeah, let's get back. We need to report what we found to Captain Jurgens."

"Yeah." Anemone responded.

"But first, we need to see Axel and get my bike fixed."

Anemone laughed and grasped Dominic's arm, "Let's go back."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Back in the Gekko-Go

-----

One day after the soccer match

Renton was punished by Holland for kicking the soccer ball into his face. The punishment was to repair all the LFO's, this however, was far from being a punishment. He enjoyed repairing the machines so it was more like a day off. That afternoon, Eureka came in with lunch. "Thanks." Renton said and started eating. He stopped and looked up to Eureka,

"What's up? I mean, why won't you go do something else?"

"There's nothing else to do right now."

"Really? What about the kids?"

"They're playing their own games right now."

"Oh..."

"Being with you is fun anyways."

"Really? Wanna help me fix up these LFO's?"

"Ok."

"Pass me the wrench from that red toolbox."

Eureka opened the toolbox and was bewildered by the amounts of tools.

"Which one is that?" She asked Renton.

"The one that looks like a bird's beak." Renton called out from under the orange LFO.

"This one?" Eureka said aloud and handed it to Renton who chuckled.

"No, those are pliers."

"How about this one..."

Soon it turned out to be a game where Eureka would try to figure out which tool is which. After several hours and the entire morning, Eureka knew all the names in the little red toolbox.

"Phew! Finally done!" Renton exclaimed to Eureka. She smiled, "Let's go make dinner for everyone."

It was past noon and everyone had eaten lunch already. Eureka and Renton were washing dishes when Mischa interrupted them. For the past three days, she had been collecting information on Eureka's and Renton's health and body. "Come this way." Mischa said. Renton and Eureka quickly removed their dishwashing clothes and followed.

"What is it?" Renton asked.

"Eureka's and your test results have finished." Mischa said.

"That's great!" Renton exclaimed.

"Yeah, but first, let's discuss this back in the lab." Mischa finished and began walking to the lab.

Renton and Eureka nodded and followed. When they arrived at the entrance of the lab, Mischa stopped and turned to face Eureka and Renton. She began talking, "Eureka, you have the 46 chromosomes that regular humans have." Eureka did not understand what exactly she meant, but she nodded her head regardless. Mischa continued, "This means that you will be able to bear children with normal human beings and you're offspring would be normal. The strange thing is that your genetic makeup is nearly the same as a human's even though you are a Coralian. You've become nearly human." Eureka's eyes widened.

Mischa continued on, "The only thing different about you is that your hair color is natural and your immune system is more advanced. Another thing is that you have wings and an extra set of muscles on your back that moves the wings. I have no idea why they are there though."

After a moment of silence Mischa started talking again.

"You can move them right?" Mischa asked Eureka, who nodded in return and flapped her wings slowly two times.

"Yeah… that's a bit strange because you can't fly either."

Renton chuckled and patted Eureka's wings, "At least that's good news!"

Eureka looked at the ground. Renton noticed that something was bothering her and asked,

"What's wrong, Eureka?"

"It's nothing…"

"Just say it."

"Well…How exactly are babies made?"

Renton's eyes widened, "Errm, ummm…" He knew how babies were created because he took health education in school. His face suddenly felt hot. He still was not comfortable about these kinds of things. Mischa sighed, "Hey Renton, you know how babies are made right?" Renton nodded slowly.

"And you haven't taught it to her yet?" Mischa asked Renton.

"H-How can I do that?" Renton stuttered.

Mischa sighed, "Alright then. Eureka follow me. I'll show you a video that will clearly explain that process of recreation."

Renton laughed nervously, "OK, I'll leave you two alone. I got some work to finish anyways."

He turned to leave but Eureka clutched his hands.

"Will you watch it with me?" She asked softly.

Renton looked into her purple eyes and became entranced. For some reason, he could never turn down Eureka's requests.

"Fine." He sighed.

Eureka smiled and briefly hugged him. "Thanks."

Renton and Eureka followed Mischa into a dark room with a projector. Mischa took out an old disc and inserted it into the movie player. "It's a bit graphical, but I think you're old enough now." Mischa warned. The movie started and Renton groaned. He watched the same exact movie in his health class and he did not like one bit of it. The entire movie took nearly an hour to finish. Renton hated because the movie would say what the right way is and what the wrong way is, what are some risks, STD's, etc. Every time there was a demonstration, Renton would turn away. Eureka, however, did not. She watched through the movie wide-eyed and with great interest. By the end of the movie, Eureka was still very confused about the process of making babies. She bombarded Mischa with tons of questions such as, "Why do they take off their clothes? Why do they make weird noises? Why do they look so tired after? And last but not least, why does it look so tiring?" As usual, Mischa answered these questions as scientifically as she could. "Humans are amazing…" Eureka quietly whispered to Renton who in return let out a small smile.

The doors banged opened and Holland and Talho walked into the room. Holland instantly recognized the movie and chuckled, "Hey Renton, I think that's what the Nirvash meant by further evolution by two becoming one." Talho glared at him and lightly hit the back of his head, "Bakka! Do not give them weird ideas! The Nirvash probably meant later in the future. It could even be something else completely too."

Holland rubbed the back of his head and quietly said, "But still, what else could the Nirvash meant?" Mischa coughed and grabbed everyone's attention. "Eureka, you should not think about having kids until you are at least 20. Having kids is the last thing to do. Girls should experience other things and save reproducing for last. For one reason, it will be much more satisfying and also, your child will have a better life." Holland clapped and exclaimed, "Well done!" Mischa's eyes darted over to Renton.

"You got that Renton? If Eureka becomes pregnant, you will take the blame." Mischa said sternly.

Renton raised his arm in defense and laughed nervously.

"Don't worry. I don't think of that stuff anyways."

Mischa stared at him for a moment and decided that he was not lying. Holland let out a cough; everyone's attention diverted over to him. He lifted up his left hand, which held a magazine.

"Renton, Eureka, I'm going to enter you guys into a reffing contest. It's called Couples' Ref Race."

Renton's face was full of excitement and Eureka smiled.  
"Really!?!" Renton asked excitedly.

"Of course."

"Cool! Are you and Talho entering too?"

Holland laughed, "Of course not! If we did, there would be no competition. Plus most of these people entering are your and Eureka's age."

Renton could not hold his excitement in.

"Yeah!" He cheered. "When will the contest start!?!"

"This Friday, three days from today."

"Sweet! This is going to be fun, Eureka!" Renton said and looked over to Eureka. She simply smiled and nodded.

"Alright you two, get back to your jobs now!" Talho yelled. Eureka and Renton quickly shuffled out of the room but then Holland gripped Renton's left shoulder and quickly whispered into his ears, "Meet me later in right here, and bring Eureka too." With that, everyone returned to their tasks.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

It was getting dark outside. The crew was settling down, some snoozed and some kept watch. Together, Renton and Eureka walked back to the movie room. By the doorway, Holland stood with two ref boards in his arms. One was red and white, and the other was light blue and white. "Hey Renton!" He called. "These Ref boards are for you and Eureka to use." He handed the boards to Renton and Eureka. Renton ran his fingers around the curves and edges of the board. Instantly, he could tell that this board was made from very high quality material. He weighed it on his hands and could tell it was well balanced. The boards also glimmered in the moonlight, giving them a beautiful shine."Are you sure we can have these, Holland? It's better than any boards I've made so far and the quality is just amazing." Holland smiled and said,

"Of course! I made them myself. They are yours to keep so treat them well."

"Thanks Holland!"

"No problem."

"What is made of?"

Holland laughed, "It's made of the highest quality skyfishes found around here."

"Skyfish? I thought it was banned because too much were being killed."  
"They are but I think it's OK to use one or two for a Ref board."

Eureka, Renton, and Holland looked to the left; Talho emerged from the doorway and sighed. "Holland, you're always breaking the rules." Holland scratched his head, "It can't be helped. They're not that bad anyways." Talho was about to argue back but decided against it and exhaled loudly instead. Holland sighed, "Renton and Eureka, return to your rooms and rest. We have a big day tomorrow." Renton and Eureka returned to their rooms, leaving Holland and Talho alone. Talho walked up next to Holland and rested her head upon his shoulders.

"I thought you don't like reffing for money."

"I still don't. This contest has no prize."

"What is it for then?"

"It's a charity race. The money will go to the orphans all around the world. It will also strengthen those two's relationship."

Talho hugged him and whispered into his ears, "You've changed a lot."

Holland smiled, "Not that much." Talho smiled at his response. The couple stood together in the moonlight, each enjoying the peace and quietness.

"What should we name our baby?" Talho asked quietly.

"How about …"

-----

Renton could not sleep that night. He kept turning and rolling around on his futon, trying to find a comfortable position. Just then, the bedroom door slide open and in came Eureka. Renton sat up, wondering why she came, "What's wrong Eureka?"

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither.

"Umm… Can I sleep with you?"

"Umm…"

"Please?"

"…Fine…"

Renton scooted over and made room for Eureka. She walked over and lied down to the right left of him. Soon enough, Eureka fell asleep, her right hand tightly gripping Renton's left hand. Renton, however, was still awake. He took a deep breath and sniffed the air. All he could smell was Eureka's sweet scent. He always liked the way she smelled. It always reminded him of the cherry blossoms that bloomed in spring. Moments later, Renton drifted into sleep and fantasy.

----

"Where am I?" Renton said aloud and looked around. He was surrounded by lush green grass. He looked up and gasped. Instead of the regular blue sky he was used to seeing, it was the world. "Is this a dream?" He thought and pinched his arm. "Ow…"

Out of nowhere, a small light-blue skyfish flew in front of Renton.

"Hey, hey!" It said in a squeaky voice.

"Did you know that the world is filled with great unknown evil?"

"What do you mean?" Renton questioned the skyfish.

"The phoenix that burned itself will emerge from its ashes and wreak havoc once again."

"What?" But the skyfish was already flying away. "W-wait a second!" Renton yelled and chased after it. He took a few steps but soon realized that the ground was gone. He was surrounded by infinite darkness. "What the…" Renton gasped before gravity pulled him down. He hit the ground with a loud thud. "Ow…" He groaned and looked around. The ground he was standing was nothing. All around him was nothing but darkness. Suddenly, something caught Renton's attention. A small white light pierced through the darkness. "Eureka?" The small light began expanding and took a human shape. Renton gasped; the light had turned into a man with silver hair. "Dewey!?!" The figure was fully visible now and it was indeed Dewey. "What? How? Aren't you dead?" Renton questioned the man standing before him. The figure just laughed and snapped his fingers. A jet-black LFO emerged from the shadows. It had spikes sticking out of its shoulder armor and carried a black sword. Its eyes shone with a blood-red color. It raised its blade and struck down at Renton, who was too shocked to move. Before the blade struck him, Eureka pushed Renton out of the way. "Eureka!?! What are you doing here?" She did not answer him though. The strange LFO was about to strike at Renton again but then a streak of light blocked it. Out of the darkness, the Nirvash emerged and tackled the black LFO. "What is going on?" He asked Eureka. She simply smiled. "What does tha-at me-an…" Renton suddenly felt sleepy and his vision faded out to black.

By the time Renton woke up, he could not remember what he dreamt about.

------

Next Morning

Linck and Maeter peeked into Renton's room. "There's mama!" Linck whispered excitedly.

"Eww… She sleeping with barfie kid…" Maeter said quietly. Linck giggled silently and exclaimed, "Look! His hand is on mama's butt!"

Even though Renton and Eureka were sleeping side by side, they unconsciously moved closer to each other over the night. Renton was lying on his side facing right to Eureka who was also lying on her side and faced Renton. "We have a perverted Daddy!" Maeter giggled. Maurice strolled in behind them and looked inside. "What are you guys doing?"

"Looking at Renton touch mama's butt!" Linck chuckled. Maurice sighed, "Leave them alone. His hand isn't even touching either. Renton's hand was indeed not touching; it was simply lying limp on Eureka's hip. Maeter scurried over to Eureka and plopped down right next to her. She took a sniff and pinched her nose. "Mama smells a bit like Renton now." Linck sneaked up to Renton. "Do you think he's awake?" He asked and pulled up one of Renton's eyelids. The eye swerved back and forth rapidly. It suddenly stopped and narrowed. Renton bolted up and knocked over Linck by accident. This caused Maeter to lose her balance and land on Eureka who in turn tripped Renton. All four of them struggled for a while, each trying to get out. Maurice sat back against the wall and chuckled, "Finally, something fun to watch."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

After the small quarrel in Renton's room, the family headed over to the bridge. There they meet Holland who stood crossed arm and tapped his foot. Holland stopped and smiled, "Renton, Eureka. Grab your boards, we're going to practice."

"Can we watch?" Maeter asked.

Holland grinned and patted her head, "Of course!"

All six headed over to the hanger room where all the LFO's were kept. Holland pulled down on a red leaver labeled "Open Hatch". A blaring alarm sounded and red lights blinked for a few seconds. The hatch lowered, revealing the light-blue sky. The sudden opening created a small vacuum, which started sucking air out.

The three children clumped to each other in order to avoid slipping out of the ship.

"Hey Holland! Isn't that dangerous?" Renton yelled into the onslaught of wind as he gripped Eureka tightly.

Holland stood calmly in the barrage of airstreams. He took a deep breath and yelled over the wind, "Everything is OK." Soon after he finished, the winds died down to a cool breeze. The children breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright Renton, show me what you got." Holland ordered.

It was the perfect day for reffing. The blue sky was almost with no hint of clouds and in the distant, skyfishes swarmed and sparkled in the sunlight. Renton looked at Eureka and nodded. He ran down the runway with his new ref board clamped tightly under his left armpit. Nearing the end of the runway, Renton jumped up with all his might and quickly slipped his board under him. He landed in a kneeling position and quickly stood up. Green sparks played around the board as he sped off into the sky.

"Hey! Show me what you can do!" Holland yelled from the launch pad.

Renton quickly executed several series of loops and turns. He crouched down and grabbed the tip of the board. He pulled up and did a loop.

"Cut-back Drop-turn!" All three children cheered.

Renton smiled; the reaction of the board was amazing. It moved effortlessly through the trapar thus causing a very low amount of rattle. With a slight lean to one side, the board would immediately turn the way he wanted it to go. "Yeah!" He cried in joy as adrenaline rushed through his veins. "This board rocks!" Renton thought as he did another cut-back drop-turn.

"Eureka, it's your turn!" Holland called. Eureka ran straight off the ramp and dropped down.

"Mama fell!" Maeter shrieked.

Maurice shook his head, "Look."

Eureka darted straight up into the sky towards Renton. Green sparks trailed her as she twirled back and forth. Maeter and Linck threw up their arms and cheered, "Yay! Go Mama!"

Eureka reached Renton and hovered next to him. Maeter started waving her arms and drew Renton's and Eureka's attention to her. "Hey Mama! Show him your special trick!"

Eureka nodded, glanced at Renton, and sped off. She quickly grasped onto her board. Her board literally climbed vertically and twirled. Gravity soon pulled Eureka down though. Her board slowed to a stop and spiked steeply down.

"Eureka!" Renton cried in distress.

Eureka quickly pulled up on the board, causing a massive amount of green sparks emerge at the tail of the board. Eureka stood up now and gracefully executed a cut-back drop-turn. The children cheered and

Renton breathed a sigh of relief as Eureka drew to him. "So, what do you think?" Eureka asked him.

Renton grinned, "It's beautiful. I can't even ref that well." Eureka smiled and blushed slightly.

Holland interrupted their moment and yelled, "OK! Enough wasting time! Race to that group of skyfishes over there!" He said as he pointed at the group of skyfishes in the distance. Renton quickly sped off leaving Eureka behind. "Catch me if you can, Eureka!" Renton yelled over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, a streak of white and blue came up to him.

"Eureka!?! How did you catch up so quickly?"

She smiled and sped past him.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Renton yelled as he crouched down on his board in order to gain more speed. "Why can't I catch up?" Renton thought as he chased after Eureka. For a moment, he thought he saw green sparks emit from Eureka's wings. Eureka reached the group of skyfishes five seconds before Renton. "Wow! You're faster than me!" Renton gasped when he arrived. Eureka smiled and pointed at the skyfishes. "Look, they're starting around us." The skyfishes had begun flying around Eureka and Renton who drifted next to each other. "Wow!" Renton exclaimed. "They're so pretty." Eureka added as she looked at the sparkling skyfishes. "Not as pretty as you." Renton said and made Eureka's cheeks to turn pink. They held hands and enjoyed the view of the skyfishes. "Do you know why the skyfishes are doing this?" Renton asked Eureka as they stood floating on their boards.

Eureka shook her head, "Why?"

"Well, they respond to happy thoughts and such stuff. It's strange though."

"How come?"

"People say that they only gather when people are carrying compact disks. We don't have one right now though."

Eureka smiled, "Still, they're gathering around us."

At that moment, the group of skyfishes broke up. One flew and landed on Renton's head and another landed on Eureka's palm. Renton tried to grab the skyfish but was unsuccessful. Eureka's skyfish, however, did not fly away. It sat calmly on Eureka's palm and allowed her to pet it.  
"How are you doing that?" Renton asked.

"I don't know."

She raised her palm into the air and released the skyfish. It quickly flew back to its group which was flying towards the setting sun. Renton smiled, "Let's go back." Eureka nodded and they flew on their boards back to the Gekko-Go where Maeter, Linck, and Maurice greeted them happily.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Anemone, start packing up." Dominic said as he folded up the bed sheets. They have been staying at the hotel for about three days now. Every day, they would go site seeing and relax. There was not much to see at BellForest though. Bellforest was peaceful and dull; nothing much happened. One thing that was interesting was that the town was building a park dedicated to Renton. It was halfway done when Dominic and Anemone saw it.

It was time to go back to base and report their findings. But first, they needed to get Dominic's motorcycle repaired.

"Let's see…" Dominic said as he studied the map and quickly packed up his clothes. Anemone groaned, "Dominic, have you seen my favorite comb?"

"Comb? What does it look like?"

"It's purple and has a soft memory foam handle that molds to the shape of your hands."

"Umm… Oh! I remember now! I think it snapped in half when I tried combing my hair with it."

"WHAT!?!"

Dominic laughed uneasily, "Umm… Yeah… Sorry about that…"

Anemone shrieked, "DOMINIC!"

He threw up his hands in defense and stuttered, "I-I'll buy you a new one, a better one."

Dominic almost thought that Anemone was going to blow up but luckily, her breathing steadied within moments. Dominic let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly packed the rest of their things. The two walked pushed and pulled the motorcycle. With the help of Gulliver, they reached the ruins of Axel's store.

"What the hell happened here?" Dominic gasped as he observed the old ruins of Axel's store. From behind, a familiar voice called. "Hey you punks! What do you want?"

"Huh? Umm… We're looking for Axel Thurston." Dominic said as he turned around. His eyes widened at the appearance of the old man dressed in layers of coats and a beanie on his head.

"Dominic…?" Axel said slowly. Dominic walked forward and shook his hands. "Pleasure to see you again." He thought he saw tears in the old man's eyes but it only lasted for a second.

"Great to see you again." Axel said with his voice nearly cracking up. He looked over to Anemone and asked Dominic, "Who is this pink haired girl?"

"Umm…" Dominic glanced at Anemone and continued, "She's my girlfriend." This caused Anemone to blush slightly.

Axel smiled, "Good for you! Well, let's get your bike repaired."

"Where?" Dominic asked.

Axel laughed and said, "In my secret workshop."

Axel lead the couple around to the back of the destruction of the old workshop. Apparently, Axel had retrieved all his tools from the rubble of his old shop. He quickly inspected Dominic's motorcycle and said aloud, "We need to get you a new wheel. This one has ten broken spindles." He started digging stuff out of the pile rubble behind him. "Aha! Here is a good conditioned wheel!" He exclaimed. Dominic smiled and said, "Hold up, I'm gonna call my captain real quick." Dominic paced around in circles as he waited for the dial tones to stop. "Hello?" Captain Jurgan's voice sounded in the phone.

"Dominic Sol reporting here."

"What did you find?"

"I found some data that suggested that Dewey has been playing with cloning devices."

"Cloning? Who was he cloning?"

"I'm not sure, but the clone has been moved out already. It also appears that Dewey's extremist are still active. They may cause problems."

There was no answer from the other side. "Hello?" Dominic called into the phone. "Damn! Stupid, cheap, crappy Verizon!" Dominic screamed into the phone. "Hey! I'm still here!" Captain Jurgens voice rang in the phone.  
"Don't say that about my phone company."  
"Sorry. I thought it dropped my call."

"Anyways, quickly get back here. I'll warn Holland and the others."

The message ended. Dominic placed his phone back into his pockets and looked over to Axel and Anemone. Axel's and Anemone's smile always warmed his heart.

"Well, I guess staying a day longer can't hurt."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Day of the Contest

Holland was discussing about the ref race with Eureka and Renton. He pulled out a map of the area. Eureka and Renton stepped closer and peered at the map.

"This is the map of the area you guys will be racing in." Holland stated. His fingers began tracing around the colorful markings. "This area was just created about a few months ago when the Scrab Coral broke." Holland said and then pointed at squiggly lines on the map. "These are the fissures that or cracks that was formed. The trapar levels there are extremely unstable." Renton looked up from the map. "What does that mean?" He questioned Holland.

"At times, they may have high levels of trapar and other times, they have low levels of trapar."

Eureka and Renton nodded in unison. Holland continued, "The racetrack curves around those fissures. It is about 1.5 miles long. The track is a loop so the finish line is where you started."

"Wait, so we only go one lap around?" Renton asked. Holland nodded and continued talking. "Ok, the scoring is based on points. You gain points for style, speed, and tricks. They will also score you on how well you cooperate with each other. Also, you can cut over the fissures as shortcuts though I don't suggest that because the trapar is unstable."

Just then the doors banged open and in came Talho. "Holland," she said, "we are getting near."

Holland, Talho, Eureka, and Renton ran out to the cockpit where everyone else stood. They gazed down through the glass. "Look!" Maeter gasped as she pointed down at the ground. "That ground is spitting out green stuff!" Linck said excitedly. Renton walked up to them and patted their heads.

"That's trapar." Renton said. "They come out from the breaks in the Scrab Coral."

"Wow…" Maeter and Linck said in unison.

"Where Maurice?" Renton asked the two children. Maeter pointed across the room and said, "Over there with mama and Stoner." Renton thanked Maeter and walked over to Eureka who was observing Stoner and Maurice. Stoner was squatting on the floor and held a shiny silver camera in his hands.

"What are they doing?" Renton whispered to Eureka. She did not answer but continued to observe Maurice and Stoner. Renton too looked over to Stoner and Maurice. Stoner started talking to Maurice, "You're a great photographer Maurice so I bought you your very own camera."

Maurice could not hold in his excitement. "ReallY!?! Thank you!" Maurice said in a voice shaking in excitement.

"No problem!" Stoner said and handed Maurice the shiny new camera. Maurice rushed over to Maeter and Linck and showed off his new camera. Renton and Eureka looked at each other and smiled.

Holland called Eureka and Renton over. They walked up to him, both wondering what he wanted from them. Holland pulled out two suits: one black and blue and one black and red. He handed Renton the black and red on and the other to Eureka. "What's this for?" Renton asked as he observed the black suit with red stripes running down the side.

"They are ref suits. They provide some protection against some light injuries. They also have less wind resistance than regular clothes." Holland explained to the two.

"Less resistance?" Renton asked.

"Yeah, you'll pick up speed much better and quicker."

Renton and Eureka nodded in acknowledgment.

"Alright you two, go change in your rooms and report back here in five minutes. Bring your boards too."

With that said, Renton and Eureka walked to their rooms to change.

Renton changed into the new ref clothes. It was a bit like surfing clothes and stuck closely to his skin. It was a bit uncomfortable to Renton though. He decided to check on Eureka to see how she was doing.

"Eureka!" He called when he arrived at her bedroom door. There was no reply to his call. Renton shrugged and pushed open the door. He took a step in and gasped, "Eure…ka?" In the middle of the room stood Eureka. Apparently, she was still changing and had nothing on except for white undergarments. She stared, wide-eyed, back at Renton.

"Renton…?"

She noticed Renton's eyes darting up and down her body. She blushed and quickly placed her arms across her chest.

"Hi…Renton…" She said slowly as her cheeks turned pink.

Every second Renton looked made his face hotter and redder. He managed to pry his eyes off of Eureka's body and stumbled backwards.

"Sor-Sorry!" Renton stammered before he ran out of Eureka's room.

Outside in the hallway, Renton slumped down on the wall and wiped off the sweat on his forehead. Images of Eureka flooded into his mind. He remembered that one moment too perfectly. Eureka's pale body and her wings that sparkled in the sunlight had made her seem exceedingly beautiful. These thoughts however, made saliva build up in Renton's mouth. He quickly wiped off the drool and smacked his head a few times, trying to get rid of the image. He had a sudden urge to open the door and take a closer look. Luckily, Renton managed to overcome the urge. He breathed a sigh of relief and could feel the rapid beating in his chest slow down. Eureka emerged from her bedroom, fully dressed in the blue and black ref suit. She also carried her new ref board under her arms. The two stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. "Let's get back

"Let's get back to the front." Eureka said quietly. Renton nodded in reply and together, they started walking back to the cockpit.

"Umm…sorry about earlier…I didn't know you were in there." Renton said awkwardly as they walked. Eureka shook her head, "It's ok." They stared at each other and giggled.

Holland tapped the floor impatiently with his foot. "Where are they?" He said as he paced back and forth. "It's been nearly 15 minutes!" He exclaimed when he checked his watch.

Soon after, Eureka and Renton entered the room. Their faces were still a bit red from all the laughing.

"What took so long?" Holland asked them.

"I took a long time to change." Eureka answered.

"And we had to go get my board." Renton added.

"Oh… I see…" Holland said suspiciously. Matthieu came up behind Holland and dropped into the conversation.

"Suspicious…" He said accusingly.

"What?" Renton asked.

"You two were gone for nearly 15 minutes… That's enough to do it."

"What's it?" Eureka asked.

"No way!" Renton stammered.

"You're stammering. It's an obvious sign that something happened. So how was it?"

Hilda came up behind Matthieu and smashed down on his head.

"OW! What was that for?" He whined as he rubbed his head.

"That's for making up lies! Now come with me and help me move the LFOs!" Hilda yelled as she pulled Mattheiu's ears.

"Alright I'm going!" He yelped and waved good-bye to Renton. Holland, Eureka, and Renton chuckled and waved him good-bye. Holland smiled and called to Moondoggie.

"Moondoggie! Land the ship!"

"Yes Sir!"

The ship tilted downwards and descended. Renton held Eureka's hands and squeezed softly.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Gekko-Go bounced and skidded to a stop. The entire crew came out to watch Eureka and Renton. Renton gasped at the size of the crowd. There appeared to be more than a hundred people watching on the stadium.

"It's so big!" Eureka said to Renton.

Linck and Maeter were amazed at the size of the stadium and decided to have a race to the top of the stadium.

"I'll beat you to the top!" Linck laughed.

"No you won't!" Maeter said as she speed towards the stadium.

"Hey! You cheated!" Linck said and chased after her.

Eureka chuckled and turned to face Maurice. He was holding the new camera that Stoner gave him.

"How come you're not playing too?"

"I don't want to. I'm going to take pictures.""

Maurice held up his camera proudly and took a couple of shots. He took a few snaps of the stadium, the track, and of Maeter and Linck racing. He soon joined Maeter and Linck and ran after them. Eureka and Renton smiled at each other and held hands.

"Renton! Eureka!" Holland called. "This way!"

Holland waved and showed Eureka and Renton to the registration center. There, they paid the entry fee and filled out many forms. Ten minutes later, Eureka and Renton were on the racetrack with five other couples. The entire Gekko-Go crew sat on the benches and cheered for them.

"Go Mama! Go Papa!" The three children screamed.

A person announced all the racer's names. Renton and Eureka were the last to be announced.

"And in this corner is Renton and Eureka from Gekko-State!"

The crew jumped up from their chairs and cheered. With a loud bang from the announcer's pistol, the race started. Eureka, Renton, and all the other couples blasted off from their spot. One couple was quickly knocked out of the race. They tried to take the shortcut over the fissures but were unsuccessful. Instead, they were knocked off their boards when a blast of trapar erupted from the crack.

"I hope they're alright!" Renton yelled over the wind to Eureka who was riding by his side.

Back at the stadium, the crowd gasped as the couple hit the ground with a thud. They were quickly retrieved by a team of medics and taken off the racetrack.

Holland groaned, "I hope Renton and Eureka won't have to take those shortcuts." Talho reassured him and placed her head against his shoulder. "Don't worry. They make a good team." Holland smirked and placed his arms around her. He patted the bulge on Talho's stomach. He knew the baby's due date was coming soon because the bulge had grown to an enormous size. "We still don't know our baby's name." Holland said in a low voice. Talho smiled and nodded her head, "We don't even know if it's a boy or girl."

Back on the racetrack, Eureka and Renton were still racing. They held second place and were slowly gaining up to first place. Out of nowhere, a wave of trapar smashed Eureka directly into the stomach and sent her flying back. Her board spun forward and shattered into thousands of shards.

"Eureka!" Renton screamed as he spun his board around and flew toward Eureka.

"Are you alright?!?"

Eureka nodded. The ref suit had protected her against most of the damage. Renton let out a sigh of relief. "Let's go." Renton said as he held out his hand to Eureka. She did not move and sat with her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Sorry." She said quietly.

"What for?"

"We've lost because of me."

(Listen to Storywriter now.)

Renton crouched down in front of Eureka and held her chin up. He gazed into her purple eyes and wiped away her tears.

"I promised didn't I? I will always be by your side."

Eureka stared back into Renton's cool blue eyes. With Renton by her side, she always felt that together, they can accomplish anything.

"Let's finish this, Eureka."

"Yeah."

Renton pulled Eureka up onto his board.

"Are you sure this will work?" Eureka asked. Renton smirked and chuckled, "No, but it will now! Look!"

Eureka looked over in the direction Renton pointed. Not so far away was a school of skyfish.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Eureka answered and slipped her arms around Renton's waist.

The school of skyfish were flying towards them now.

"Hold on tight Eureka!"

The skyfish were all around them now.

"We can fly!" Eureka and Renton yelled in unison as the skyfish swept up their board

"Holland!" Talho called. Holland was staring at the ground and had his hands clasped over his face when he saw Eureka knocked off her board.

"What?"

"Just look."

Holland lifted up his head and looked at the stadium's enormous screen. He gasped and could not believe what he saw. On the screen was Renton and Eureka ridding on one board. Many skyfishes surrounded them. Holland chuckled to himself.

"Smart. They used to the skyfish to pick up lift and speed."

One row down, Linck and Maeter cheered and Maurice took pictures of the screen.

"Go mama! Go Renton!"

Renton glanced over his shoulder at Eureka who nodded in reply. Together, they steered the skyfish towards the fissures. With the skyfish's help, Eureka and Renton safely passed over the fissures. Soon they were in first place and reached the finish line thus ending the contest. Eureka and Renton shook hands with the other contestants and received a golden medal for first place. Soon after, the entire stadium emptied. Everyone except for Holland, Eureka, and Renton remained.

"Let's get back to the ship." Holland said and left the stadium.

Renton and Eureka were about to leave but then three girls approached them. The girls were dressed similarly; they wore red lipsticks, eyeliner, short black skirts and tank-tops. They had different hair colors though: one had dark hair, one was blond, and the other was a brunette. The three girls surrounded Renton and separated Eureka from him.

"We are your greatest fans!" said the blond girl.

"And we want your autograph." Said the dark haired girl.

All three girls pulled out a small black book from between their breast. Eureka watched as Renton signed and received a kiss from each girl. Eureka's hands clenched tightly into a fist. She wanted to hurt those girls and rip their faces away from Renton. "Is this what jealousy feels like?" Eureka thought bitterly to herself. Hilda had taught her what jealousy was long before but this feeling was different.

"Renton!" Eureka yelled but Renton was too distracted to hear.

Renton's face was red after the three girls left. Eureka and Renton walked silently back to the ship. Renton tried to talk to Eureka but she ignored him and did not look at him. They got back inside the Gekko-Go.

"I'm going to change out of these ref clothes." Renton said while glancing at Eureka. She did not respond though and continued staring at the ground. Renton sighed and walked to his room. Eureka also walked back to her room and changed. The ship shook and started to take off. Just before it left the ground, a person shrouded in black jumped onto the ship.

Eureka had finished changing and walked up to Renton's door. She pushed open the door and looked in. Renton had finished changing and was sorting out his laundry.

"Why Renton?"

"What?" Renton asked as he stood up.

"Aren't I good enough!?!" Eureka said as her voice rose in volume.

"Yeah."

"Then why did you have to let those girls kiss you?"

"What else am I suppose to do?!?" Renton's voice was raised now.

"I don't know!"

"Then why are you asking me!?!"

Renton's bedroom doors creaked open. Maeter came in with a frog toy.

"Um, can you fix this?"

Eureka turned her back to Renton. He sighed and quickly fixed the toy. Maeter ran out after Renton handed her the toy back.

"Look." Renton said and walked up behind Eureka and slipped his arms around her.  
"I'm sorry about what happened."

Eureka did not take the apology though and pushed Renton away.

"Go away!" She yelled as she ran out of his room. Renton sighed and decided to let her cool off and not chase after her.

Eureka was angry at Renton but she was angrier with herself. She decided to cook Renton's favorite meal and walked slowly up to his room. Eureka knocked on the door, "Renton?" There was no answer though. Eureka exhaled and apologized, "Renton, sorry about earlier. I wasn't thinking clearly."

There was still no reply. "Renton?"

Eureka pushed open the door and took a stop in. The entire room was in disorder: clothes were flung everywhere and it looked as if there was a great struggle here. Renton was no where to be found though. The bowl of food clattered to the floor and shattered.

"Renton!" Eureka gasped.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Right after Renton and Eureka argued with each other

Renton sighed as Eureka stormed out of the room. "I'll just let her cool off." He thought and returned to doing his laundry. "Maybe this would not have happened if I had not signed those girls' notebooks." He thought as he sorted out his shirts. Renton hoped that Eureka would not be angry for long. "I should go apologize to her right after I finish my laundry." He thought as he shoved his hands deep inside the laundry basket. He felt something that was soft but stiff and pulled it out. Apparently, the object Renton pulled out was a white bra. He stared at it for a few seconds as thoughts flooded into his mind. It was too small to belong to Talho or even Mischa and Hilda. It could be Gidget's though. Renton's face felt warm all of the sudden. The object he held in his hands seemed familiar.

"I've seen this somewhere before."

A quick flashback of the time he accidently walked in on Eureka changing played across his eyes.

"Eureka!" He gasped and quickly shoved her bra back into the bottom of the laundry basket. His heart rate returned to normal and his face grew less red. Behind him, the door squeaked open.

"Eureka?" Renton said and spun around.

Renton's eyes widen in surprise. "You!" He gasped. In the doorway was the man that abducted Eureka nearly four months ago.

"You!" The man said in a mocking tone as he took a step in. "Of course it's me! Who else would have the skills to sneak on this ship?"

The voice sent chills down Renton's neck. The voice was strangely familiar and reminded him of someone he once knew long ago. However. he could not see the man's face; it was covered by a set of black goggles.

"You're not laying one finger on Eureka again." Renton said as his body tensed.

"It's not her that I am after. It's you!" The man screamed and jumped forward. Renton quickly tossed all his laundry at the man in attempt to stop him. However, this only slowed the man down a small amount. The man knocked aside the clothes and lunged forward at Renton again.

Renton raised the laundry basket above his head and quickly brought it down upon the man's head. The man's knees buckled a little as his head broke through the bottom of the basket. He hollered in pain, quickly pulled the basket off and rammed it into Renton. The basket snapped and shattered as it contacted Renton.

Renton grunted as a few plastic shards penetrated his skin. He quickly recovered and sent two punches at the man's nose. The man stumbled backwards as blood flowed out of his nose.

"Damn you!" The man cried in pain and pulled out a small tranquilizer. He pulled the trigger; the muzzle flashed and a muffled thud sounded. Renton's vision flickered and his body felt numb all over.

"I would kill you, but Dewey wants you alive." The man chuckled before Renton drifted into darkness.

-----------------

Eureka stepped over the spilled food and into Renton's room. "Renton?" She called out again but no one replied. She stooped over and picked up her white bra. "This is mine…" She said quietly and looked over at the broken laundry basket. Eureka gasped and dropped the bra as she ran over to the basket. On the ground were plastic shards tipped with blood.

"This blood is still wet." She told herself when she touched the blood.

She swiftly got up and sprinted out of Renton's room. She knew he was still nearby because the blood was not dry.

"Renton! RENTON! Answer me!" She called out as she ran down the hallway. She turned the corner and bumped into Holland.  
"What's wrong Eureka?" Holland asked.

"Renton is gone!"

"What!?!"

The ship suddenly tilted and quivered. They ran to the cockpit room and joined the rest of the crew.

"What happened!?!"

Moondoggie was busy handling the GekkoShip so Gonzy answered instead.

"A small unidentified aircraft crashed into us."

"How did you miss that?"

"It's not as if I lost my touch…" Gonzy started to mumble. He did not want to admit that he was taking a nap when the small aircraft came.

"Breach in hatch 443!" Gidget yelled across the room. Holland exhaled loudly.  
"Hap, Hilda, and Matthieu equip yourselves."

"Yes sir!" They said together and pulled out SMGs from the cabinets.

"Talho?" Holland called.

"Yeah?"

"Get into the bunker with the children."

"What!?!"

"I can't let you help fight this time."

"Why!?!"  
"Both you and the baby will get hurt."

Talho gritted her teeth. She knew that Holland was right.

"Alright." She sighed and embraced Holland. With that, Talho left the room along with Maeter, Linck, and Maurice.

The three children walked silently behind Talho.

"Mama is acting a bit weird." Linck whispered as they headed for the bunker. Maurice nodded in reply. Before leaving the room, he noticed something strange about the big compact drive on the table. For some bizarre reason, the red and blue light blinked out of unison. Maeter sniffled a little and held her hands to her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Maurice asked.

"I am scared."  
"How come?"

"No it's not, mama and papa were fight earlier."

"About what?"

"I don't know but I'm scared."

Maurice chuckled softly "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

They arrived at the bunker shortly after the conversation.

"Alright, wear these." Talho said and handed the three children bulletproof vests. The children wore the vests over their clothes and entered the bunker.

"Talho, aren't you going stay here too?" Maurice asked as he entered the bunker. Talho shook her head and closed the door before Maurice could react.

Holland called Eureka over and handed her a small pistol.

"Here, it's not strong enough to kill in one hit but it can stop most people. Go get Renton."

She nodded and ran off searching for Renton.

Holland looked around the room and hollered, "Okay, let's kick out the intruders!"

The remaining crew took up pistols and took up defensive positions.

"Hilda and Matthieu cover the hanger." Holland yelled.

"Okay!" Matthieu said and left with Hilda to the hanger.

Holland turned to Hap and said, "You take the east side of the ship. I'll cover the west side."

Hap nodded and left the room. Holland too left the room and patrolled the west side of the Gekkoship.

Holland jogged down the hallway and was about to turn a corner but then heard voices. He skidded to a stop and threw himself against a nearby wall.

"Go! Go! GO!" A voice called and then many footsteps sounded.

Holland instantly recognized the command.

"SOF!?! What are they doing here?" He thought as he waited for them to come closer.

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

"Now!" Holland thought and jumped out in the hallway. There were five men, fully armored and equipped with rifles. Holland quickly took down three surprised men and jumped back behind the wall.

"Damn! Take him out now!" The commander of the group yelled.

The forth SOF unit ran up but Holland quickly tripped him and fired into his forehead. "One more to go." Holland told himself and rolled out in a crouched position.

"Huh? Where did he go?"

A hail of lead sprayed down at Holland causing him to take cover. He managed to dodge most of the bullets but two had hit him directly in the leg. Holland crumpled to the floor and dropped his SMG, which slid a few feet away from him.

"Damn it!" He said as he quickly reached out for his gun. His fingers nearly touched the barrel of the gun but all his efforts were quickly crushed. The last survivor, the commander of the group, had brutally stepped on Holland's outreached hand. Holland let out a yell of pain as the man put all his weight onto Holland's hand. The SOF command laughed coldly and aimed his gun at Holland's forehead. From behind, Talho shot the man directly in the back of his head. The commander's eyes widened and then swerved out of focus as he slumped down on the ground.

"Talho! I thought I told you to stay in the bunker!" Holland grunted from the ground.

Talho pulled Holland up from the ground and slapped him.  
"You would've died if I didn't come!"

Holland smiled and scrunched his face as pain rushed through him.

"Maybe…"

Eureka ran through the hallway and called frantically for Renton. She felt that she was getting closer. Eureka turned the corner and encountered two men; one was a soldier and the other was Renton's captor with an unconscious Renton slung over his shoulder. Eureka quickly fire two rounds into the soldier's legs and effectively disabled the man from further combat. She swiftly took aim at Renton's captor.

"Stop right there!" He yelled and pushed the point of his pistol at Renton's head.

"No!" Eureka gasped.

"Put your gun down or else you will find your boyfriend missing part of his face."

Eureka did not know what to do. If she tried to fight, Renton will die but if she does not fight, Renton will be taken away for who knows what reasons. To her surprise, a shot echoed through the hallway. She collapsed onto the floor and blood oozed out from the bullet wound on her back. The man who shot Eureka walked up to Renton's captor.

"We need to leave now!"

"Let's also grab the girl."

"No! We have no more time!"

"Why not?"  
"Most of our crew has been killed. We have no cover fire anymore."

Renton's captor sighed.

"Alright, let's get back to Dewey."

The two men sprinted through the rest of the ship and left on a shuttle.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Ugh… Where am I?" Renton groaned. He coughed a bit, his throat felt as if it was scrapped raw. He snapped his eyelids open and immediately, light flooded in causing his eyes to sting and burn. He quickly closed his eyelids and sighed at the relief. The previous day's events poured back into him and played across his closed eyes. "I got to get out of here!" He thought and tried moving his arms and legs. However, he could not move; he was chained, arms and legs, to a strange machine. Renton slowly opened his eyes despite the piercing sting of light. The whiteness soon became shapes and colors that moved busily. Renton gasped and could not believe what he was seeing. Strange instruments were strapped onto him and many wires stuck onto his wrist and chest. An even more numbers of wires were fixed upon his forehead. Slow beeps from the many surrounding machines created a dreary feeling of a hospital. Renton rapidly observed his surroundings. He was in some sort of lab room. Many strange people with white suits and three-eyed masks stood and droned on with some unknown task. A big plasma screen hung above them. The screen suddenly flickered on. The droning workers turned in unison and stared as if they were expecting something to happen. A image of a white haired man appeared. A white and light blue cap sat upon his braided hair. Renton gasped in astonishment and horror.

"Dewey!?!"

One of the strange people stepped up and started talking to the figure of Dewey on screen.

"We have the boy. He is all set up and ready for the wipe."

"Good." Dewey replied.

"I still do not understand why we have to do this."

Dewey laughed, "Because."

"Because?"

"The corralians are surviving only because of those two."

"Can't we just kill them?"

"No, death cannot break the ties of love… it may even strengthen it."

"Then how?"

Dewey laughed once again, "By having breaking the bond themselves."

Many of the strange people laughed in their nasal machinery voice.

"Oh I see! We mind wipe the boy and then have him break up with the corralian girl!"

"Exactly." Dewey said coldly.

Renton could not believe what he saw and heard. Dewey Novak was alive somehow and now they were planning to wipe his mind. "I have to stop this madness!" Renton thought.

"Why do you have to do this!?!" He yelled out loud.

Dewey smiled, one that sent chills crawling down Renton's neck.

"Why, to rid human kind of an old enemy."

"The corralians don't want to harm us!"

"You've got it all wrong. They are leaching off us. Don't you see? They leech off you in order to survive."

"No, you've got it all wrong! We survived this long because of them!"

Dewey ignored him and continued talking to the other people.

"Start the wipe now."

The strange people got back to their machines and started clicking buttons. "No! Listen to me! You've got it all wrong!" Renton protested. "Paralyze him." One of the people said. Almost immediately, Renton's body went numb. All feelings fled from him and he could no longer twitch a muscle. All Renton could do was stare and wait for the people to finish their work.

"Initialize wipe."

Renton let out a scream of pain. His forehead felt as if it was splitting in half. Images of his life sped through his eyes. "No… no… NO! EUREKA!" Images of Eureka flashed across his eyes. All turned to darkness and Renton lost consciousness.

"Wipe complete. 99 wipe success. 1 of recovery."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Maurice stared into the endless green sea of the compact drive. The red and blue lights still did not blink in unison. Everyone in the ship was depressed because Renton was somewhere unknown. Further elevating the sad mood is the hospitalization of Eureka. Maurice knew she would recover in no time under Mischa's care, but after seeing all the bloodied rags and bandages, he was still uneasy of the situation. Maurice lied back on the couch and looked at his peacefully sleeping brother and sister. Maurice's gaze diverted back to the huge compact drive. Maurice gasped loudly. The red light blinked slower and was much dimmer than the blue light.

"Renton!?!"

Linck and Maeter woke up with a jolt. "What wrong, Maurice?" Maeter asked while she yawned and rubbed her eyes. "The compact drive! Something happened to Renton I think!" Maurice said while pointing at the compact drive. Linck and Maeter gasped together, "The light! It's not…"

Mischa's voice cut through the air. "Someone come to the infirmary and help me with Eureka!" Her voice crackled through the speakers.

"Come on! Let's go!" Maurice yelled urgently and pulled Maeter and Linck along before they could respond.

The three siblings jammed through the infirmary doors and were surprised to see Mischa holding Eureka down.

"Mama!" They yelled frantically. Eureka was trembling uncontrollably and sweat ran down her cheeks. Her eyes diverted left and right as if searching for something. She started yelling loudly, "Renton! RENTON! We have to go save him!"

"Help me hold her down!" Mischa grunted as she pushed down on Eureka. The three children were in too much shock and could only nod their heads. Through all the chaos, Maurice was the first to regain his senses. "Mama!" He yelled and pinned one of Eureka's arms down from moving. Linck and Maeter also regained their senses soon after that. "Mama!" They yelled and clamped onto Eureka. "Hold her still while I sedate her!" Mischa yelled and left searching for sedative drugs in the cabinets. She returned a minute later with a bottle and needle in hand. Eureka still spasm uncontrollably. "Hold her still!" Mischa said in a commanding tone. The three siblings nodded simultaneously and held Eureka down with all their might. "Hold on Mama!"

Mischa quickly wiped Eureka's wrist with an alcohol towel and stuck the needle in. The red liquid drug drained from the clear tube and entered Eureka's body. Moments after, Eureka stopped shaking and moving. Her pupils dilated and her body went limp. Maurice breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down against the infirmary bed. Mischa sighed and left the infirmary room. Holland ran up to her and yelled, "What's going on?"  
"Keep your voice down, Eureka is resting now."

Holland reached for the door handle but Mischa stopped him.

"Let them be by themselves for a while."

Holland nodded and stepped back.

"Woz finished tracing the trail of the small aircraft. We'll be heading for it in the morning."

"How do you plan to retrieve Renton?"

Holland smiled, "By force of course. But first, we'll need to pay a short visit to Morita and pick up the DevilFish."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Did you finish uploading the fake memories into him yet?" Dewey said sinisterly.

"Almost… okay, done." The tech man said.

"Good." Dewey turned to face Renton, "What is your name?"

"Renton Thurston." Renton replied robotically.

"Good. I want you to enter the Gekko-Go by any means and retrieve this girl." Dewey said handed Renton a picture of Eureka. Renton nodded and stuffed it down his pockets.

"Now wait in that room down the hall for your friends to come rescue you."

Renton nodded and walked down the hallway and into the room.

--------------------------

Holland strolled down the hallway. He entered the cockpit room and looked around. Everyone was busy with their own job. "Moondoggie!" He called. "Set course to Morita's laboratory!" Moondoggie nodded and pushed left on the controller. The Gekko-Go immediately responded and shifted left.

"Leader." Woz called, "Call from the Super Izumo."

Holland answered it, "Yeah?"

"I've heard about what happened." Captain Jurgens answered.

"Yeah."

"We're going to come and help you."

Holland laughed, "We'll be done before you get here."

Captain Jurgens scratched his head, "Remember those girls that followed Dewey? Well… they escaped."

"What? How could you?"

"They were put into low security prisons."

Holland sighed.

"Also, Dominick found some evidence that Dewey was using cloning devices."

"What!?!"

Moondoggie yelled across the room, "Morita's Laboratory insight. Landing now!"

Holland sighed again and ended the conservation, "Okay, later then."

The Gekko-Go descended slowly onto the runway. A crew of engineers came out and started loading the DevilFish into the Gekko-Go hanger. Morita greeted Holland and quickly went through the new schematics of the DevilFish.

"I've heard of your situation." Morita started.

"Yeah."  
"Anyways, the Devilfish has been repaired and it also has some new features."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The cockpit is much bigger now, its armor was redone, and now, you don't have to be on drugs in order to use it."

"That's good."

"Although, to use its compact drive, you'll have to be on drugs or else it'll be too hard to control."

The Devilfish was finished loading onto the ship. Holland nodded and waved goodbye to Morita.  
"Don't trash it up again!" Morita called and waved goodbye.

"Alright let's go!" Holland hollered. The Gekko-Go shot off the runway and headed towards their destination.

One Hour later….

"Hilda and Matthieu, you guys get on your LFOs and come with me. Moondoggie and Ken-Gol, don't let the ship get damaged." 

Moondoggie and Ken-Gol nodded, Hilda and Matthieu left for the hanger. Holland was about to leave but Talho grabbed his wrist. She smiled and softly said, "Do you best." Holland smiled, hugged her and left.

Three LFOs shot out from the Gekko-Go; one blue, one orange, and one silver. A trail of green sparks came from them as they flew at the military laboratory. Soon after, ten KLFs took off from the building. "We got company!" Holland yelled from Hilda's and Matthieu's screen. The three LFOs swerved apart and flew at the group of KLFs. Soon, laser blasts and machine gun fire mixed. Hilda spun to the side and dodged a hail of lead. She quickly fired laser blasts at the attackers and took out two KLFs. Pink explosions erupted as Mattheiu blasted two more KLFs. "Holland! Go in, we'll cover you!" Hilda shouted into the camera. Holland quickly navigated the DevilFish directly at the group of KLFs. They fired at him but Holland quickly pulled up, spun forward, and landed behind the group of KLFs. He fired a few laser blasts behind. It tagged the back of three KLFs and caused them to smoke and explode into a cloud of pinkness. Holland crash-landed the Devilfish into the doors of the building. He sprung out from the cockpit and entered through the broken doors. He quickly reloaded his SMG and sprinted through the hallway. He ran into a group of five guardsmen. He did not falter though, and charged straight at them and sprayed fire on them. Within moments, the group was down and each men with a bloody hole in their gut or forehead. Holland rushed on through the hallways pushed through the double doors. He gasped and ran into the room. In the middle of the room was Renton. He just stood and stared at Holland.

"Hey Renton! We're here to bring you back."

Renton nodded slowly. Holland had a strange feeling, Renton did not seem to be his normal self.

Holland looked around the room to ensure it was safe. The big screen on the wall flickered and then Dewey's face appeared.  
"Dewey!" Holland gasped.

"Hello Holland."  
"How the hell are you alive?"

Dewey laughed and the screen turned dark. "Damn!" Holland thought and grabbed Renton's wrist.

"Let's get out of here!"

The two ran back through the hallway Holland came from. They passed the pile of dead guardsmen and after a few minutes of running, they were back into the DevilFish. All three LFOs quickly retreated to the Gekko-go. Holland, Hilda, Mattheiu, and Renton entered the room next to the kitchen. Everyone of the crew was there and cheered for their return. Talho hugged Holland and quietly whispered into his ears.

Holland looked over at Eureka. She was sitting quietly on the couch with her eyes focused on the floor. Holland nodded and yelled aloud, "Alright, everyone out of the room!" The crew crammed out of the door and left Eureka and Renton alone together. Eureka got up slowly and walked up to Renton.

"Renton?" Eureka asked and stared into his frosty blue eyes.

Renton stared back coldly. Eureka gasped and stepped backwards slowly.

"You're not Renton…"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Eureka ran out of the room, not glancing behind or slowing down one bit. She knew that the person was Renton and had the exact same physical appearance, but something was still not right. "Maybe I'm over reacting." She thought. It was only a feeling but Eureka continued running down the hallway. Matthieu strolled down the hallway. "Hey Eureka." He said and waved at her. She pushed him aside and continued running. "Wow, someone's angry." Matthieu said to himself while scratching his head. "I wonder what Renton did that made her run." He thought for a moment. "Ah, who cares?" Matthieu shrugged and walked on.

Matthieu turned the corner and came upon Talho. "Matthieu, do you know where Renton and Eureka are? They're not in the kitchen." Talho questioned him.

"Well, Eureka ran down the hallway and Renton…. I don't know where he is. Now that you mentioned it, Eureka did seem upset about something."

"Talho sighed, "Something's wrong."

Matthieu nodded and Talho continued down the hallway.

Talho walked on for a while and then came to Maeter, Linck, and Maurice.

"Have you guys seen Renton, Eureka, and Holland?"

Maeter started talking.

"We don't know where mama and papa are, but…"

Linck, who had came up from behind and smacked her arm, interrupted Maeter.

"Ow! That Hurts and you're not suppose to hit people in tag!"

"You're it!" Linck laughed and ran off through the hallway."

Maeter rubbed her arm and chased after Linck.

"Holland is in his room." Maurice added before he ran after Maeter and Linck.

"Something is definitely wrong between Renton and Eureka." Talho thought and headed for Holland's room.

--------------------

Holland sat on his bed and wore nothing except for his orange shorts. He stared into the black vortex of the television. Lost in thought, he pondered about the recent events.

"Why is Dewey alive?" He thought.

"What does he want? What did he do to Renton?"

From the moment he saw Renton, he had a strange feeling in his gut. Holland could not grasp the situation and could not tell what was wrong with Renton. Just then, the bedroom doors slide apart and entered Talho. "There you are." Talho said and sat down next to Holland.

"What's bothering you?" She asked.

"Nothing."

Talho glared at him.

"That's not what your face is saying."

Holland sighed and turned to face her.

"Alright, alright. It's about Dewey.

Talho made a face at the name. She remembered the time she was Dewey's girlfriend. They brought back painful and sour memories. Back then, Talho had thought that he loved her. However, that was from the truth. Instead, he exploited her, used her, trashed her up without care, and threw her aside as if she was junk. Talho remembered that she was once pregnant before. It was Dewey's child but Dewey had forced her to abort. After that, Dewey left her. Talho could remember that moment when Holland came into the hospital, picked her up, and took her away from all the misery.

Holland continued talking, "Yeah, he's alive… Somehow…"

"What!?!"

"Even worse, something is wrong with Renton."

Talho nodded, "Yeah, I know…"

--------

Renton stared after Eureka as she ran out of the room. Her movement, curves, hair, everything about Eureka entranced Renton. He did not know why he was attracted to her though. "So she's the target." He said quietly and flipped out a cell phone Dewey handed him.

"Renton here." He said into the phone. "I have found the target."

"Good." Dewey's voice rang through.

"What do you want me to do now?"

"Kill her."

"O-ok…" Renton stuttered and snapped the phone shut.

For some strange reason, Renton felt uneasy about killing the girl.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

With Talho's help, Holland changed into his regular clothes.

"We should go find Renton and Eureka." Talho said.

"I don't know where Renton is, but I think I know where Eureka is."

"Where?"

"Just follow me." Holland finished and with Talho by his side, they headed towards Renton's room.

--------

Eureka dashed through the hallway. She came to a stop at Renton's bedroom.

"Renton…" Eureka said softly and pushed the door open. She peered into the small room. The room was not like the last time she saw it. Someone had picked up all the clothes and broken shards of the laundry basket. Eureka took a few steps in and held up Renton's red clothes from its spot on the wall. She held his clothes tightly against her chest. The clothes were warm and still smelled like Renton. The smell was not exactly good but it always made eureka fell all warm and fuzzy on the insides. Her knees suddenly got wobbly and caused her to collapse on the floor. Tears started to form in her eyes. Eureka had missed Renton very much. It was somewhat similar to the feeling that she had when Renton left about a year ago.

The door creaked open and in came Talho and Holland. Holland sighed, "Alright Eureka, get up."

Eureka trembled a little and sniffled.

"Look what you've done!" Talho scolded Holland and crouched down next Eureka.

"What's wrong Eureka?" Talho said softly.

However, Eureka did not answer.

Talho sighed, "Just let it all out."

Eureka managed to suppress her tears and started talking in a very low voice.

"It's… my fault… that Renton is like this… I shouldn't have… been mean to him… then he wouldn't …. Be like… like…" Eureka's tears choked down her words again. Holland sighed and took a few steps in.

"Come on, let's go find Renton."

Eureka did not respond though. Talho closed her eyes and exhaled loudly. She held up an open palm and slapped Eureka's left cheek. A loud "smack" echoed throughout the small room.

"Talho…" Holland said slowly in shock.

Eureka stared at the floor. Her hand slowly went up to the cheek that Talho had slapped. Talho scoffed and stood up. She grabbed Holland's arm and stormed out of the room.

"Pull yourself together, Eureka!" Talho yelled before the door banged shut.

Eureka continued staring at the ground. "What should I do?" She thought and sat silent for a few minutes. Eureka swerved around feeling that someone was at the door. She gasped slightly as the door opened and revealed a slightly surprised Renton. Renton did not expect to find the girl that he was going to kill to appear right in front of him. In his hands, he held a brown bag that contained a small black pistol. He was going to his room to prepare the pistol that Dewey had given him. Eureka suddenly stood up and embraced Renton. Renton's eyes widened in shock as Eureka hugged him.

"Why is this girl hugging me?" He thought.

Instinctively, he dropped the brown bag containing the gun and placed his arms around Eureka. He quickly pulled his arms away not knowing why he hugged Eureka in the first place. "Sorry." Eureka whispered and broke away. She took one last glance back at Renton and ran out of the room.

"That was strange." Renton thought as he loaded the pistol.

Renton flipped the safety switch of the pistol to off.

"Time to go." He said aloud to himself and left the room.

-------

Holland was going back to Renton's room in order to check on Eureka. "I hope Eureka didn't take it too hard." Holland thought as he strolled through the hallways. He turned the corner and just caught Renton leaving the room.

"Renton!?!" Holland gasped under his breath. "What's he doing?"  
Renton walked down the hallway, opposite of Holland, and turned a corner, out of Holland's sight. Holland took a few long strides to Renton's room and entered the room.

"Eureka is not in here…" He said aloud to himself. He gazed around the room and noticed a brown bag thrown on the ground. He stooped over and picked it up. He sniffed it and scrunched up his face at the smell of gun power.

"What's he doing with a gun…? Oh… no… Eureka…" Holland dashed out of the room and down the hallway, which Renton had gone through.

"I should've known this was going to happen!" Holland said between breaths. Holland pulled out his pistol from his pockets as he closed in on the LFO hanger. He quickly pushed open the doors and entered the hanger.

"Renton!" Holland yelled at Renton who stood in the middle of the room. Renton turned to face Holland. His cold blue eyes locked onto Holland's gray eyes.

"Throw that gun down!" Holland bellowed as he jumped down the staircase. However, Renton did not respond and merely stared at Holland. Holland aimed the barrel of his pistol at Renton's forehead.

"Drop the pistol, Renton!"

Renton smiled, an eerie and cold one, and simply said, "No."

"What!?!"

Renton aimed his pistol at Holland's chest.

"Don't you…" A flash from Renton's pistol interrupted Holland. Holland quickly ducked to the side, barely dodging the bullet. "Damn it! I have no choice now but to shoot!" Holland cursed under his breath. Renton fired his pistol again. Holland barely dodged it and pulled the trigger of his gun. A small flash sprang from Holland's pistol along with a ball of lead. The ball spiraled at Renton's forehead.

"No!" Someone screamed from out of the blue.

From out of nowhere, Eureka jumped in and pushed Renton away from the path of the bullet.

"Get out of the way, Eureka!" Holland yelled as he took aim again.

"Don't hurt him!" Eureka screamed and held her arms out.  
"He is not Renton! I have to take him out before anyone gets hurt! "

"I know that the real Renton is still somewhere in there!"

Holland frowned and could not decide what to do. He sighed and slowly pointed his gun down to the ground. Eureka turned around to Renton and asked him, "Are you okay?"

Renton slowly stood up. The strange gleam sparkled in his icy blue eyes.

"Ren..ton…?" Eureka asked hesitantly.

Renton quickly wrapped his left arm around Eureka's neck and jab the gun barrel against the side of Eureka's head. Eureka let out a scream of pain and Holland gasped in shock.

"Let her go!" Holland screamed.

Renton laughed and slowly pressed the trigger.

"Renton!" Maurice called and jumped out of nowhere. Renton stopped to look in the direction of the voice but it was enough time for Maurice to tackle Renton. A shot rang out and Renton stumbled back from the force of Maurice's tackle. Renton swiftly whacked Maurice on the head with the butt of the pistol.

"Maurice!" Eureka yelled in a worried tone as Maurice collapsed on the floor. Renton turned to Eureka and took aim at her forehead. A loud "bang" rang throughout the hanger. The sound waves bounced off the metal walls and created a deafening echo. Holland breathed loudly as the end of his pistol smoked. Renton's pupils retracted to a small dot as he touched the gunshot wound on his right shoulder. His arm went limp and the pistol clattered to the floor. Blood oozed out from the smoking bullet hole. Renton suddenly felt sleepy and collapsed on the ground next to Eureka.

"Renton!" Eureka gasped and held him.

----

Two days later.

-----

Renton woke up in the Gekko-Go's infirmary. He opened his eyes slowly to the blinding light. Pain immediately pierced them but it soon subsided to a weak throb. "Where am I?" He said hoarsely.

"Renton!" Eureka's voice sounded in his ears.

Eureka jumped up from her seat to the right of Renton and hugged him.

A sharp jolt of pain sprang up from Renton's right shoulder.

"OW!"

Eureka quickly recoiled back.

"Sorry!"

Renton rubbed his damaged shoulder and nodded.

"It's alright."

Eureka smiled and tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm glad… that you're okay now." She said as she stared into Renton's warm sea blue eyes.

Renton rubbed his head and asked, "What happened?"

Eureka was about to answer but then Linck, Maurice, Maeter, along with Holland and Talho jumped into the room. The three children quickly ran over and embraced Renton. Talho and Holland stood at the door and smiled.

"Yeah mama, tell us what happened!" Linck yelled.

"Yeah!" Maeter laughed in agreement. Maurice smiled for he was glad that Mischa had successfully restored Renton's memories.

"Alright, well about a few days ago…"

Talho and Holland left the family together in peace. They strolled down the hallway holding hands.

"Everything is back to normal now right?" Talho asked Holland as they walked.

"Yeah."

Talho grasped her tummy and groaned a bit.

"Are you okay?!?"

Talho did not answer, but instead, she collapsed on the floor.

"What's wrong, Talho!?!"

Talho mumbled a few words, "Nine months…."

"What do you mean?!?"

"Idiot! The baby is coming!"


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"They baby is coming!?!" Holland gasped.

"Yes!" Talho groaned and clutched her enormous belly. Holland breathed out loudly and sprang down beside her. He carefully lifted her up as if she was made of glass.

Renton, Eureka, and along with the three children rushed into the hallway.

"What happened?!?" Renton yelled with a worried tone.

"The baby is coming!" Holland screamed through gritted teeth. "Give me a hand, Renton!"

"Uh, yes sir!" Renton stuttered and helped carry Talho.

Eureka and observed the scene wide-eyed and with great interest while the children chattered among themselves.

"I'll go tell Mischa!" Eureka exclaimed and ran back through the hallway.

"Mama! Wait for us!" Maeter called and the three siblings scurried after their mother.

Renton and Holland watched the four leave. Renton laughed sheepishly.

"Looks like they left us the heavy lifting."

Talho opened her eyes slightly and said weakly, "I'll get you later."

Renton gulped loudly.

------------------------

Eureka, out of breath, sprang forth through the infirmary doors. A surprised Mischa stood up from her desk.

"Back so soon, Eureka?"

"Talho's baby is coming!" Eureka said excitedly.

Mischa knew that this was going to happen. In a split second, Mischa made up her mind. With a voice of authority, Mischa commanded the four.

"Eureka, prepare the bed. You three, get hot water and towels. I'm going to prepare the equipment."

"Yes!" The three children and their mother said as Mischa left.

Maeter and Maurice grabbed a small plastic tub. Slowly and carefully, they filled it to the brim with crystal clear warm water. Linck ran over to the cabinets. He jumped up on the counter and grabbed a five snowy white towels. Eureka smoothed out the bed sheets. She folded the blankets and set them down at the feet of the bed. She then fluffed up the pillow and placed it back down in place. Eureka smiled at her handy work of the bed.

"We're done!" The three children said in unison. Eureka turned around, smiled and patted their heads affectionately.

The doors slammed open and in came Renton and Holland carrying a big-bellied Talho.

"Where's Mischa?" Holland half yelled in a questioning voice as he placed Talho on the bed. From the back of the infirmary, a deafening crash sounded. Coughs and curses flooded the air as Mischa emerged with an armful of hospital equipment. Everyone stood back as Mischa hooked up the equipment and monitors. She then taped two wires onto Talho's forehead. The bedside monitor flickered on and a steady beep and green zigzag displayed. All of the sudden, Talho let out an ear-piercing cry. Holland rushed to her side and clutched her hands. The three children clutched to their mother and Renton gripped Eureka's shoulder. Mischa sighed and walked up to Eureka and Renton.

"Take the kids out of here." She whispered to Renton and Eureka. They nodded and pushed the three children out. They protested and complained.  
"Aww! I want to see what happens!" Linck cried in agony.

"Come on, leave them alone." Renton assured him.

"Please mama?" Maeter asked with big puppy eyes.

"We have to leave them alone." Eureka said difficultly.

Maurice sighed, "Leave them alone."

"Aww!" Maeter and Linck groaned in unison as the door banged shut.

Only Talho, Holland, and Mischa remained in the room.

"Alright." Mischa announced and handed Talho a white gown. "Change into these please."

Talho nodded and pulled the bed curtains close. A shuffling of clothes could be heard behind the closed cloth curtains.

-----

It has been five hours since Talho entered the infirmary. Holland and Talho talked to each other quietly. They looked over at the infirmary doors as they creaked opened. Hilda entered and carried a tray with a huge bowl of soup in it.

"You guys should eat something or else you won't have energy."

Talho smiled, "Thank you Hilda."

Hilda grinned and laughed quietly, "No problem."

She handed the tray to Holland and walked to the exit.

"See ya!" Hilda said and left the room.

------

Later that night, screams emitted from the infirmary doors. Holland gripped Talho's hands.

"I'm here, Talho."

Pain was obviously showing on Talho's face. She shutted her eyes and gritted her teeth as pain bombarded her. Sweat beaded on her forehead so Holland wiped it off. Talho opened her eyes and smiled. Holland smiled back. He hoped greatly for that Talho will not die giving birth. Mischa sat at the edge of the bed and observed between Talho's legs.

"Alright Talho! PUSH!!"

Talho bit down on her lips and pushed with all her might. She let out more screams of pain and Holland continued gripping her hands.

"The baby is crowning!" Mischa called out. "NOW PUSH AS HARD AS YOU CAN!!"

Talho grunted and pushed even harder. She let out another cry and fell silent.

"Talho!" Holland cried in agony. "Talho! TALHO!"

"Holland! Don't worry, she had just fainted." Said Mischa.

Holland let out a sigh of relief. A small cry of a baby could be heard.

Mischa smiled and laughed, "Here's your daughter!"


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Next Morning

------

Renton twisted and turned on his flat bed. He licked his lips and stretched all four of his limbs. He cracked one eyelid open and immediately bolted up right.

"Huh, we must have landed."

He could tell that the ship had landed because he has been aboard for such a long time.

"I wonder if Talho had already given birth to the baby."

Renton hopped on his feet and quickly changed into his regular clothes. Within minutes, he dashed out of his room and ran down the hallway to the infirmary. He stopped at the door and listened closely. Linck and Maeter's voice could be heard. Renton pushed the door open and entered quietly. Maurice, Linck, and Maeter huddled around Talho and Eureka sat against the wall. Only Eureka looked over at Renton.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Eureka only smiled and nodded at Talho. Renton diverted his gaze over to Talho. Cradled in Talho's arms was a small baby girl dressed in pink baby clothes.

"What's her name?!?" Maeter asked excitedly.

"Let's call her Kuma!" Linck cried out in joy.

"No way!" Maeter protested.

"Why not!?!"

"Only pets are named Kuma! Let's call her Usagi instead!"

"No! Kuma!"

Talho laughed, "She already has a name, Ariel."

Linck and Maeter groaned in disappointment and Maurice laughed. Eureka smiled and started to head out of the room.

"I'll get us some breakfast."

"I'll come too." Renton said.

"No.. Your wound isn't healed yet.":

Renton was about to protest but thought better of it. "Alright then."

Eureka left the room and walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Wow, much has happened in the past few days." She said quietly.

Like an old movie, the previous few day's events flooded back through her.

"That's right, it has been three days…"

-------------

Three days ago

Holland's mouth gapped opened. His arms suddenly felt weak and caused him to drop his pistol. The noise of the gun clattering against the ground reverted throughout the hanger.

"Renton! Renton! Wake up! Don't leave me!"

Eureka held Renton by his shoulder and shook him. He did not respond though. His head rolled back and forth as Eureka shook him repeatedly. Blood oozed out of Renton's shoulder and onto Eureka's fingertips. Eureka held up her hand and stared at it. Blood trickled slowly down her fingers and onto her palms. Holland crept up from behind. Eureka looked up at Holland and searched for a hint of reason. The corralian girl's bright purple eyes dug into Holland. He turned away and sighed, "Move."

Holland pointed the small pistol at Renton's forehead. Eureka gasped and her eyes widened in shock as she gripped Renton tighter.

"No! Don't hurt him anymore!"

"I have to do this. He's no longer Renton."

"Move."

Eureka threw herself onto Renton and covered as if she was a shield.

"I'll die too then!"

"Move!"

Eureka did not move and glared angrily at Holland.

"Mischa will fix him!"

"He's a threat to everyone onboard!"

Eureka continued to glare at Holland.

Maurice groaned as he struggled to get back on his feet.

"Don't… Holland."

Holland gazed back and forth at Maurice and Eureka and then at Renton. He exhaled loudly and crouched down to pick up Renton.

"Alright, let's bring him to Mischa."

Maurice smiled, "I'll go tell Mischa."

Holland lifted Renton onto his back. Eureka smiled from his response. She was glad that Holland trusted her and Maurice. Together, the three left the hanger and headed into the hallways towards the infirmary.

"Thank you." Eureka said quietly.

Holland chuckled, "No problem."

Eureka smiled, "You always keep your promises."

Holland smirked, "No I don't."

"But you've kept your promise to protect both Renton and I."

Holland did not answer but continued walking.

"Here we are."

For the next hour and a half, Mischa dressed Renton's wounds. Eureka stood by the side watching and helped whenever she could. Night was approaching quickly. Darkness engulfed the sky as thousands of little lights turned on.

"Eureka?" Mischa called.

"Yes?"

"Well, I found out what's wrong with Renton."

"What is it?"

"He's been mind wiped."

"Mind wipe?"

"Yes, all his memories have been destroyed."

"Oh…"

Mischa could have sworn that Eureka was going to cry.

"D-Don't worry! I can restore his memories!"

"Really!?!" Eureka said with her eyes brimming with hope.

"Yes, there's about a one percent of chance to recover."

Eureka nodded slowly. "How?"

"Well, the brain is somewhat similar to a computer. When you delete something on the computer, you think it's gone forever. However, it is still retrievable because there are bits of data left over."

"Who told you that?"

"Woz told me a long time ago when my computer broke."

Mischa continued, "Theoretically, a human brain has areas that store fragments of memories as a backup. That is why people with amnesia can sometimes remember again."

Eureka nodded, "So how will you fix Renton?"

Mischa smiled, "With a high dosage of this certain drug that will stimulate the areas of the brain where backups are kept. But…"

"But?"

Mischa sighed, "The procedure is dangerous. Renton will struggle in choosing which memory is real and may cause seizures and cardiac arrests. He may even die."

Eureka heaved a sigh and nodded, "Okay, do it then. It's what Renton would've wanted."

Mischa nodded and started hooking Renton up to all sorts of tubes and small machines. Eureka sat on a stool next to the bed and stared as Mischa inserted a four-inch needle into Renton's wrist.

"He should be better in two days." Mischa exhaled.  
Eureka nodded in reply.

Mischa looked back and forth between Renton and Eureka.

"I'll be back in five minutes."

Mischa left the room and walked to the kitchen for a drink. When she returned, Eureka was fast asleep upon Renton's chest. Mischa smiled and placed a blanket over the two couple.  
"Good Night." Mischa whispered and dimmed the lights to a low glow.

For the next two mornings, Eureka stayed in the infirmary. The three children would sometimes come and visit, but with nothing to do, they soon left the room in search of something more fun.

Later in the night, Eureka still sat next to Renton. Mischa walked into the room and checked Renton's temperature and other stats.

"How much longer does he have to sleep?" Eureka asked.

"Hmm, he'll be awake by tomorrow morning."

"That's good."

Mischa nodded, "Why don't you get some rest?"

Eureka smiled, "Thanks, I will in a few minutes then."

Later in the night…

Eureka opened one eye and looked at the clock.

"Three o clock."

She looked over at Renton and sighed, "I hope you'll be alright by morning."

Renton's eyelids suddenly opened.

"Renton?"

His arms twitched slightly. Eureka stood up and looked into his eyes. In the dim light, she could see that they were moving around very quickly.

"Renton? Are you okay?"

His hands suddenly moved and grasped his neck.

"Renton!" Eureka screamed and jumped up him. She managed to pry one hand off before Renton knocked her off.

"Stop Renton!"

Eureka leaped on top of Renton again and grabbed his arms.

Renton's left hand flung up and grabbed onto Eureka's back. His fingers dug into her skin causing her to flinch.

"Renton...Please..." Eureka whimpered.

Renton's grip tightened and dug deeper into Eureka's back.

Tears crowded in Eureka's eyes as she gritted her teeth.

"Renton!" She yelled and pulled his right hand off his neck. Renton's left hand flailed around wildly and caught onto Eureka's wings. He tugged and twisted her beautiful green wings.

"Renton, I know you can hear me!"

Renton's eyes looked left, right, and searched around. His right hand suddenly jumped at Eureka's neck and made her squeal. His right hand wrapped around Eureka's neck and squeezed.

"Renton!" Eureka gasped. Her vision started to blur with every passing second.

"Renton.. Please...stop...I love you..."

Eureka's eyelids slowly closed. Renton's eyes suddenly stopped moving and focused on Eureka. The two pupils in his eyes retracted to a small point. His eyes rolled up and his eyelids closed down. His arms suddenly went limp and caused him to drop Eureka. Eureka lied on the ground and breathed in quickly. She got up slowly and pulled the blankets over Renton. She smiled and was glad that Renton was fine.

---

Eureka was out of the flashback and found herself in front of the kitchen doors.

"And after that night, Renton was his normal self."

She smiled,

"So much has happened."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

It has been one week since Renton recovered and Talho's baby was born. Things were finally settling down. The crew eased back into a state of relaxation and conversed with each other more freely. However, Maurice was not content. He observed the big compact drive for the past few days. He was glad that both the blue and red light blinked brightly, but something was still bothering him. He noticed that every once in a while, the blue light would lag behind the red light. Maurice had a feeling that the link between Renton and Eureka was damaged but did not know the reason.

----

Back in Talho's and Holland's room.

Talho held her newborn baby girl and talked quietly to Holland.

"Eureka and Renton haven't been talking to each other lately."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"How about we force them to go on a date?"

Holland laughed, "A date? How?"

"Well, we've landed near a pretty decent town."

"Even so, those two always manage to find trouble wherever they go."

"Maybe we have them watched?" Talho asked Holland.

Holland chuckled, "How?"

"We can have Moondoggie follow them."

Holland let out a burst of laughs, "Al-alright then."

Talho smiled and handed the baby to Holland.

"I'll go tell Eureka. In the meantime, change Ariel's diapers." Talho said and left the room.

"Change the diapers?" Holland said aloud to himself. He held the baby girl up and sniffed her white diaper. Almost immediately, a strong smell, one much worse than his own crap, shot directly up his nose. Holland scrunched up his face and quickly threw back his head.

"Whoa! I guess she meant now!"

-----

Eureka walked down the hallway and stopped at the doorway of the living room. She took a peek in and found Renton. He sat on the brown couch by the massive glass panel that looked out into a grassy filed under a blue sky. He was reading a magazine and did not notice Eureka peeking at him.

Eureka quietly closed the door and took a few steps back. She continued walking down the hallway and into the kitchen, where she found Gidget.

"What's up, Eureka?" Gidget asked while leaning on the counter.

"What's ... up... ?"

"Never mind." Gidget smiled and chuckled softly.

Eureka glanced down at the floor and twiddled her fingers.

"Could I... talk to you about something?"

"Of course, anything."

"Err... it's about Renton..."

Gidget flicked her index finger up in the air, "Ah! Love issues, right?"

Eureka was not sure how to answer that and shrugged slightly.

"I don't know. But lately, I get nervous when I'm around him."

"Hmm..." Gidget adjusted her purple had and asked in a low voice.

"Have you two done 'it' recently?"

"It?"

Eureka did not know what Gidget was talking about. Gidget took no notice of Eureka's cluelessness on the subject and continued talking.

"Now that you mentioned it, I was also shy around Moondoggie after we did it."

Gidget smiled and closed her eyes. She could vividly remember that one day where she and Moondoggie were alone inside a room of the cave they were to explore. She remembered that she though heard someone gasp but forgot about it when Moondoggie held her waist and pulled her closer to him. Gidget opened her eyes and sighed.

"He may be all cute and soft on the outside, but he has a rough side too." Gidget said and winked. Eureka stared blankly at her and tilted her head to the left in question.

"Uh... I guess you haven't done it... yet."

Gidget blushed at the fact that she said something embarrassing in front of Eureka who did not know about 'it'.

"So what did happen?"

Eureka explained to Gidget what had happened after the ref race. After Eureka finished, Gidget leaned against the counter and pondered deeply.

"If that's the case, I can teach you to be more attractive."

"Really?"

Gidget smiled and nodded, "Trust me."

The two girls burst out in fits of laughter. With that, Gidget's teaching started.

"Let's see..." Gidget mumbled as she and Eureka entered Gidget's room.

"Make up looks terrible on you, so none of that."

Eureka laughed and remembered the time she used makeup. She could clearly remember everyone's reaction, especially Renton's response. She could also remember that she felt like disappearing but after looking back upon the event, it was quite funny.

Gidget snapped her fingers together, "Aha! Different clothes!"

"What kinds?" Eureka asked.

"Ones that will make you look sexy."

"Sexy...? What's that?"

Gidget did not answer because she was busy digging up clothes in her closet. After a few minutes searching in her closet, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Ah! Here they are!" She exclaimed and held up a black tank-top and mini-skirt. With Gidget's help, Eureka changed into the new clothes. Once finished, Eureka smoothed out the skirt and checked her image in the mirror. The black mini-skirt was much shorter than her regular clothes and the tank-top revealed her bellybutton and waist.

"Gidget, are these skirts suppose to be this short and tight?"

Gidget nodded, "Yup, that's the style."

Eureka patted her chest. The tank top squeezed her chest and made it slightly uncomfortable. However, that was not the only thing that bothered Eureka.

"Is this shirt supposed to be so revealing?"

Gidget chuckled softly, "Yeah, most guys like that."

"So what now?"

"Well… I'll teach you some moves."

Gidget pulled out a small table.

"Watch closely."

With that, Gidget leaned over the table with her elbows upon the surface of the table and her palms on her cheeks.

"Then you try to curve your back in and ask for something."

"Does it work?"

"Of course! I always do that to Moondoggie when I want him to buy me something. Now you give it a try."

It took a few tries for Eureka, but she finally got the hang of it.

Gidget smiled and laughed.

"Oh, one more thing."

Gidget removed Eureka's hairpins, letting Eureka's hair droop down. Gidget then applied some styling gel and made Eureka's hair appear slick and lank. Eureka checked the mirror. "So this is what sexy is?" She thought as she observed her image. It was much different from her regular style.

"Why don't you go show Renton and also give him a kiss?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! I'm your friend aren't I?"

Eureka nodded and smiled. Together, the girls laughed and left the room.

Eureka and Gidget peaked into the living room. Renton was still on the couch and read a magazine.

"Go Eureka!" Gidget whispered and winked.

Eureka slowly entered the room and quietly walked towards Renton. With every step, Eureka felt her face become warmer.

"Maybe I shouln't do this." She thought as her blush hit her with full force.

Eureka leaned over the table Renton sat by. He did not notice and continued reading.

"Renton..." Eureka said softly.

He looked up and felt his heart skip a beat.

"What's wrong... Eure...ka?" Renton said breathlessly.

His moved down from Eureka's face and onto her chest. The way Eureka leaned and her tank top was, they provided a clear view to Renton. For a second, he could feel himself leaning forward for a better view. Many thoughts pulsed through him as his eyes floated along the pale curves.

Renton gulped; he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead. His shorts suddenly became tight and started hurting him.

Eureka felt uneasy whenever Renton looked at like that. She closed her eyes and slowly leaned forward. Renton tore his eyes off Eureka's chest and looked up.

"Ar-are you al-al-alight?" He said nearly out of breath.

Eureka did not answer and leaned further over the table. Renton's breadth quivered. He too closed his eyes and leaned slowly towards Eureka.

"Almost there!" Gidget whispered to herself.

----

Talho walked down the hallway and entered the living room through the door across of Gidget.

"Hey Renton, have you seen... Who's that... Eureka! What the hell are you two doing!?!"

Eureka and Renton's lips were centimeters away from each other.

Startled by Talho's loud voice, Eureka lost her balance and slipped head-first into Renton's face. Renton fell backwards and bit his tongue. He was in a daze of what just happened and lied nearly unconscious.

"Oh no!" Gidget gulped and took a few steps back.

Talho pulled Eureka off Renton with surprising strength. Eureka stuttered and did not know what to say to Talho.

"Come with me!" Talho said sternly and pulled Eureka with her.

They entered the dressing room. Eureka quickly changed back into her regular clothes and at the same time, she explained to Talho what had happened.

Talho laughed, "Well, just to let you know, that doesn't work well. Believe me, I tried that with Holland. He was so thickheaded. Just a reminder, most guys like girls just the way they are."

Eureka looked up into Talho's eyes. They were no longer cold but instead were brown and warm.

"Eureka, Holland and I have been thinking about putting you two on a date."

"A... date...?"


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Renton woke from his dreamlike state of mind. His tongue stung from being bitten but the pain soon subsided as he thought about Eureka and what she did a few minutes ago. He could clearly remember the softness and warmth of her breath. He breathed in and could faintly smell the sweet cherry blossoms of Eureka. Renton sat back and conjured a vivid picture of Eureka leaning over the table. The feeling of looking down her shirt was warm and blissful but at the same time, it was nerve wrecking. He slumped further into the couch as he tried to imagine Eureka without her clothes. Every passing second caused Renton's face to glow more crimson but for some strange reason, he could not picture the girl he deeply loved, without her clothes. Renton shook his head and exhaled loudly. His cheeks loss warmth as his blush faded away. Gidget came up from the door she hid behind.

"Hey… How's it going?" She asked hesitantly.

Renton sighed, "I don't know, but Eureka has been acting strangely."

Gidget nodded and Renton continued.

"A few minutes ago, she came in here dressed…. Differently…"

Gidget curled her fingers slowly into her palm and made a fist. She could not stand Renton's bluntness for Eureka's true intentions.

"You got it all wrong!" Gidget blurted out. "She did that all for you! She wanted your attention but instead, you took it all wrong!"

Renton was going to defend himself from Gidget's barrage of words, but decided against it. He knew that he did not intend to take Eureka's actions the wrong way. For the past week, he was busy pondering about Dewey and the recent events.

Why did he want me to kill Eureka?

Why is he even alive? Why…?

Holland entered the room and called out, "Hey Renton! Come with me, I need to tell you something."

Renton looked up and nodded. He waved at Gidget.

"I'll make things right again." He said to Gidget before he left the room.

Gidget smiled, she knew that Renton and Eureka always somehow fix their relation.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Renton questioned Holland as they walked.

"Talho and I have been thinking… We're going to put you and Eureka on a date."

"Wah-wait? What!?!"

"Is something wrong?"

Renton exhale noisily and shook his head. He had never gone to a date before even though he loved Eureka unconditionally. However, he was uncomfortable with the idea because he had no experience on going out with a girl. Furthermore, he was afraid of something bad happening and did not want Eureka to be in any more danger.

"Eureka will like it." Holland said.

Renton swiped his hair from his forehead. He did not want to hurt Eureka's feelings, but wanted her to be happy. He thought about what Gidget said earlier about what Eureka was trying to do.

Renton sighed and nodded, "Fine, I'll go on a date with her."

Holland smiled and thumped Renton's back.

"That's the way! Now let's get going to town!"

------

"Talho, what exactly is a date?" Eureka asked.

Talho chuckled lightly, "It's when a couple goes out and do something fun and enjoyable."

Eureka stared at the floor as she thought about it. She also wanted Renton to be happy. She was not comfortable with the idea though partly due to her previous failed attempt.

"Will Renton like it?"

Talho smiled, "Of course. Shall we get going?"

Eureka's eyes sparkled as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah!"

----

Renton and Holland arrived at the entrance of the city. It took less than five minutes because they drove the Devilfish. Holland handed a small colorful pamphlet to Renton.

"That's where the date will be at."

Renton grabbed the pamphlet and started leafing through it. Apparently, the place was a five star restaurant. Their foods ranged from exotic animals including skyfood, such as skyfish. They even had a twilight ball waltz with a band of musicians.

"Wow! This looks very expensive!"

Holland smiled and nodded, "Yeah, we had some extra money."

"You would actually do that for us?"

"I owe you two."

Renton chuckled, "Now we owe you!"

Holland smiled and parked the LFO. They were in front of a small store that sold fancy clothes.

"But first, we need to borrow you a suit."

The two jumped out and walked through the sliding glass door. There was no one in the store except for the receptionist. He sat behind the counter and read a magazine. Behind him were rows and columns of suits on electrical rails.

"What do you need?" The man said in a monotonous voice.

"Order number 351."

The seller looked at Renton from head to toe and nodded. With lightning speed, he punched in a line of text into his computer. A beep sounded as a whirling noise grew louder. Soon after, the rows of suits began moving on their rails. They moved in a very orderly fashion. The sound of gears winded down to a stop and in turn, the rows of clothes slowed to a stop. The man behind the desk grabbed one of the plastic wrapped suits and handed them to Renton. He then stooped under the counter and pulled out a medium sized rectangular box. Inside was a pair of black, shiny shoes. He gracefully handed the shoebox to Holland.

"Thank you." Holland said.

"My pleasure."

Renton and Holland left the small fancy store and hopped back onto the Devilfish. Renton checked the suit and shoes as Holland reared the LFO back onto the street. After a few minutes of driving around the streets, Holland parked the LFO in front of a small motel.

"It's gonna start in about one hour, se better get ready."

Renton and Holland stepped out of the Devilfish and entered the small building. The motel was not too bad and was only two stories high.

"One room for one night." Holland said and handed money to the lady behind the front desk.

She smiled and took Holland's money.

"Thank you. Down that hallway, room 51." She said and pointed to the hallway to her left.

They walked down the hallway and soon found their room. Renton quickly changed into the new suit and shoes. He had a little trouble with the tie, but with Holland's help. He was ready.

"Wow, these clothes itch."

Holland laughed, "Yeah, but they look nice. Oh, time to go to the restaurant."

Renton and Holland left the hotel and got back into the Devilfish. Within a few minutes, they were in front of the fancy restaurant. Holland handed a small earphone to Renton. It was extremely small and was no larger than the tip of the pinky.

"What's this for?"

"So I can give you advice from the motel."

Holland stuffed the small earphone into Renton's right ear. It immediately changed colors and became nearly transparent.

"Ow!" Renton breathed as he rubbed his ears vigorously. Holland smiled, "Everything will be great. I'll talk into the earphones if you're doing something wrong."

Renton nodded and waved to Holland who drove back to the motel.

------

"What are you searching for?" Eureka asked Talho who was busy digging through her closet.

"Aha! Found it!" She exclaimed as she pulled out a shockingly white dress and appeared to glow sparkle in the sunlight.

"Nice isn't? Go ahead, try it on."

Talho handed the white dress to Eureka. Within minutes, Eureka came out of the dresser room, fully dressed in Talho's snow-colored dress.

Talho smiled, "You look cute in that dress."

Eureka blushed, "Thanks."

Eureka walked over to the mirror and gazed at her image. The dress had a simple design. Two thin straps wrapped across her shoulders and connected to back of the dress. Luckily, the back of the dress was very spacious and exposed more than half her back, allowing her wings to flex freely. Eureka liked the dress more than Gidget's outfit. The dress did not make her appear surprisingly appealing, but it simply revealed her true self.

"Eureka, it's time to go." Talho yelled from the doorway.

"Almost done!" Eureka called and quickly slipped into the pair of white, open toed shoes.

Eureka followed Talho to the hanger. Talho opened the cockpit of the 808.

"Hold on, I'll be right back."

Talho ran out of the hanger and into the front room of the ship. She looked around and saw Ken-go playing with the baby.

"Okay, looks like I found a baby sitter. Now where's Moondoggie?"

Talho spotted Moondoggie's blue cap and ran towards it.

"Moondoggie! I need you to get ready to film the date!"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me! Remember what Holland said?"

Moondoggie groaned, "Fine."

Talho ran back out to the hanger.

"Remember to stay out of sight!" She yelled back to Moondoggie before leaving.

Talho hopped back onto the 808. Eureka was ready to go and was fully strapped under her seat belt. Talho yelled, "Let's go!" and pushed down on the pedal. The engines roared as the 808 speed out of the Gekko-Go and towards the town submerged in the twilight horizon.

------

Moondoggie changed into his blue suit and prepared his camera.

He yelled across the cockpit room, "Hilda, I need you to drive me to town!"

"What for?" Hilda's muffled voice called from behind her chair.

"Talho and Holland wanted me to follow Renton."

Hilda perked her head up from her work, "What?"

Moondoggie groaned, "Eureka and Renton are going on a date."

"Hmm," This had caught Hilda's attention. "Wait, explain what's going on."

Gidget was walking by and heard part of the conversation, "Hey! Tell me what's going on too!"

Moondoggie opened his mouth but was interrupted by Mathieu.

"Yo, what's happening?"

Moondoggie grudgingly explained everything again and was interrupted every few sentences by questions.

"I wanna go!" Gidget whined.

"Yeah, I'll go too!" Hilda exclaimed.

Everyone started talking all at once.

"Alright!" Hilda yelled.

Everyone stopped at once and turned their heads to Hilda.

"We can't go or else we'll ruin it."

The others groaned.

"But…" Gidget started but Hilda held up her hand.

"No… But, we can link the camera to a nearby plasma screen. Then we will be able to see everything Moondoggie sees."

Everyone nodded in agreement and started talking all at once.

"Alright then, what are we waiting for?" Mathieu stated loudly.

Everybody pushed and pulled to get into the 606. It was a tight fit, but everyone eventually fitted into the LFO.

-----

Moondoggie was dropped off by the restaurant while the others went to a nearby motel. Without knowing, they were all in the room between Holland and Talho's rooms.

"It's about to start." Moondoggie whispered to himself as he turned on the camcorder and took cover in a couple of bushes near Renton's table.

----

Renton sat on a small white table on the restaurant's balcony. In the middle of the table was one red rose in a small, clear-blue vase. He looked up at the sky and exhaled. It was getting dark and only small tinges of orange and pink showed. The moon was full and shone brightly along with many countless, far-away stars. His gaze dropped slowly down onto the empty chair. Renton swerved around when someone tapped his shoulder. He nearly stopped breathing at the sight of Eureka standing in the moonlight. He stared at her as she took her seat across from him. Renton felt his jaws go slack as he continued to stare. However, it was not the same type of awe as when she was in the tank top and mini-skirt. He could not think of anything to describe what he was feeling. He noticed that Eureka's dress sparkled along with her wings. Even the little thing on her forehead appeared to glow in the dim shine of the moon. She was simply dazzling to Renton. As the seconds past, Eureka's cheeks slowly filled with pinkness. Holland's voice suddenly crackled in Renton's ear, "Stop staring and say something!"

Talho's voice sounded in Eureka's ear, "Ask him how he is!"

Eureka and Renton spoke at the same time, "How are you?"

"I'm fine." They said together again and chuckled at the stupidity of the conversation. Everyone watching laughed too. Even Holland and Talho burst into fits of chuckles.

"May I take your order?" A near-by waiter asked Renton.

"Uh... May I get a medium bowl of your sundae supreme?"

The man perked his eyebrows up at Renton's strange choice of food.

"Certainly, and you, young lady?"

Eureka looked up from the menu in her hands, "I'll get the same thing."

The waiter's eyebrows rose even higher from Eureka's order. It rose even higher from her appearance. After the waiter left, Renton snorted a small laugh. Within minutes of taking the order, the waiter came back with two bowls of ice cream. The bowl of ice cream had many layers of different types of toppings. Each layer grew smaller as they reached the top where there was a small, bright red cherry. All of this was carefully placed upon a beautifully designed glass bowl. The waiter placed them gracefully down in front of Eureka and Renton, and left them to enjoy their food.

"Let's eat!" Renton exclaimed and dug his spoon into his mountain of ice cream.

Eureka smiled and took a bite out of her ice cream. While Renton took humongous gulps of ice cream, Eureka took small, petite bits. Inside the restaurant's main room, the lights dimmed as the musicians started playing their instruments. (Listen to this:

)

People from all sides sat up from their tables and stepped into the middle of the room.

Holland voice suddenly crackled in Renton's ears, "Get up and dance with her!"

Renton sat up slowly and Eureka did the same.

"Want to try some dancing?" Renton asked Eureka.

She smiled, "I would love to."

They uneasily walked over to the center of the room.

"I don't dance very well." Renton said and scratched his head

Eureka giggled, "I don't either. Just do what the others are doing."

Renton nodded, "Alright then."

With his right hand, he held her left hand. His left hand gently held Eureka's waist while her right hand held onto Renton's left shoulder.

"Is this how?"

Eureka looked around and giggled, "Seems close enough."

Together, they took a few steps back and forth like the other people. Renton missed a step or two. He clumsily tried to regain his balance, but stepped onto Eureka's toes instead. It hurt tremendously but she forgave him. They continued to attempt dancing. Though it took many tries, they eventually got the hang of it. Eureka and Renton danced on for a few minutes. Not surprisingly, they bumped into another couple. Eureka and Renton bowed and apologized. They laughed and continued to dance. Together, Eureka and Renton twirled, stepped back and forth, and simply enjoyed their time together. The song changed several times before the dance ended. Eureka and Renton stumbled out of the restaurant. Both were laughing and slightly dizzy.

Renton exhaled loudly, "Whew! That was fun!"

Eureka giggled, "We messed up so many times."

They chuckled and walked along the sidewalk under the night sky. Moondoggie trailed them all the way into the park. The park was not well lit, making it difficult to see objects in front. Luckily, the moon light and the dim, green glow of Eureka's wings provided some line of sight.

Eureka and Renton suddenly stopped. He turned and stared into her loving, violet eyes. She too gazed into his warm, blue eyes.

"Eureka…"

"Renton…"

"I love you…"

Renton closed his eyes as he slowly leaned forward. Eureka blushed from his words. Talho's voice ranged in Eureka's ear, "Show some control, Eureka! You got to push him away and show that you are in charge, not him."

Eureka ignored Talho and slowly closed her eyes. She slung her arms around Renton's neck who in turn, wrapped his arms around her waist. They kissed, gently at first and then with a little more passion. Everyone, except for Talho, nearly cried, even Moondoggie shook a little as a tear slipped down his cheek. Eureka and Renton slowly broke apart.

Renton talked gently to Eureka, "Want to go find a place away from the sidewalk?"

Talho and Holland started yelling into Renton and Eureka's ears.

"Don't you dare do it!"

"Better not ruin that suit!"

"Eureka!"

"Renton!"

"Listen to me!"

Eureka and Renton held their hands up to their ears and pulled out the small earphones. The voices of Holland and Talho ranged loudly out of the small technology. Eureka smiled and threw the earphones into the darkness. Renton grinned and threw his earphone at the sky. Both earphones disappeared and the voices of Talho and Holland faded away into the darkness.

Eureka giggled, "Let's go."

She held on to Renton's arms as they walked off the sidewalk and into a mass of trees and bushes.

Holland and Talho's voice exploded into Moondoggie's ears.

"Moondoggie! Follow them! Don't let them get away!"

"Ouch! Alright, alright!" Moondoggie cried into his microphone and took a few steps forward. However, he did not get very far and slipped on a small pebble. He fell backwards and his head smashed against the cement with a muffled thud.

"Moondoggie!" Talho and Holland yelled. There was no response though; he was knocked unconscious.

Eureka and Renton giggle as they stepped through the bushes and into a small opening. The clearing was roomy enough for them to do nearly anything. Renton slid his fingers over the grass, which was extremely soft. It was slightly moist and had a great, fresh smell. Renton eased Eureka down onto the grass and he himself plopped down next to her. Eureka squeezed his hands softly and pointed a finger at the night sky. Renton gazed up and gasped. It was a breathless sight: many small streaks of fire shot across the dark sky. Some were small and some were big. Others moved slow and others moved fast. He looked at Eureka and she looked back at him.

"What are you wishing for?" He asked her.

Eureka smiled, "It's a secret."

They watched the night sky together. Both laid on the grass silently but they were happy and were glad for the quiet peacefulness.

"We should get back." Renton said in an uncertain voice.

"Just a little longer." Eureka whispered softly.

They continued to gaze at the beautiful meteor shower. Their arms intertwined slowly and their heads leaned against each other.

"Just a little longer," Eureka said gently, "Just a little longer…"


	31. Author's Explanation

I'm current very busy with school. Please drop a review on what you would want.


	32. Chapter 31

Author's Notes:

It's been nearly 3 years since I stopped writing this fanfiction. Please forgive. I seemed to have forgotten a lot of the original ideas that I had planned for this. But don't worry, it'll come back, if not, I'll make it up, and it'll probably be close to my original ideas. This chapter is just a precursor, so don't worry, I'll get back into the writing mode soon enough. BTW, at the current moment of this writing, 9/19/2009, I'm writing two fanfictions, so please bear with the time lags.

Thanks for keeping up with this fanfiction for so long people. PS: I will try to get back on track as soon as possible.`

Chapter 31

_No… Eureka!_

_Stop that!_

_If you keep doing that I won't be able to hold back! _

_Ahahaha._

_Seriously, stop now before it's too late!_

_Ah. If you continue like that, I will seriously spill my guts out. _

_Stop already!_

_Ah! Hahaha! _

_PLEASE! STOP TICKLING ME WITH THAT FEATHER! _

_AHAHA!_

Renton woke with a start. Cold sweat had gathered on his forehead and palms. "What a strange nightmare," he thought as he shook his head in an attempt to clear it, "How in the world does a being ticklish to a feather have anything to do with us? I don't even think I talk like that!" He let out a loud yawn as he stretched. It seemed as if he and Eureka had fallen asleep before they realized it. He looked to his right and gazed at Eureka's peaceful face and thought how cute she looked despite being asleep. He smiled, Around him, bushes and trees obstructed most of his view; the area they chose to sleep in was very well hidden from the streets. In fact, it was so well isolated that he nearly forgot that it was only a five minute walk from that little grass hill they lied on as they watched the stars the other night.

There was a tiny space in the surrounding trees, just enough to let a small stream of light to pass through. The warm light lit the small space quite well and provided a great view for Renton: he was able to see nearly every blade of grass on the ground. He could even see the dew that collected on the leaves. He smiled, "How peaceful it seems." He recalled all that had happened to him and Eureka in the past year. So much had happened, and most of the time, they were fighting for their lives. There were many situations in which Renton thought that he would lose Eureka, but with everyone's help, things managed to turn out better than he had expected. He remembered his promise that he made to Nirvash and smiled. "Nirvash, just you watch. We'll fix this whole thing once and for all," he said quietly.

Renton's right hand was still holding Eureka's hand. "It's so warm," he thought as he gently squeezed her hand. "Eureka. Wake up." His left hand stroked her light turquoise hair. He was slightly surprised how silky Eureka's hair was; his hair always felt rough to his hands, even after he had a proper bath. Renton shook Eureka softly, "Eureka." She opened her eyes slowly and smiled. "Good morning Renton," she said as she stretched her arms. Renton smiled, "Wanna go look around the town? Today's probably the last day we'll spend here. We'll have to get to the Gekko-go by night fall I think." Eureka smiled softly and nodded her head. Together, they sprang up on their feet and crawled out of the small bushy area. They walked pass the hill on which they had made their wishes. Renton smiled as he recalled the memory. Soon enough, the two left the sanctuary of the trees and found themselves back on the main street of the city. He had never seen this city during the daytime; it was only last night that he came here, and that was at some restaurant. He exhaled sharply: the city looked amazing bathed in the morning sun. Since the buildings were white, they seemed to glow almost. Renton laughed, "Let's go Eureka!" Eureka smiled and took a step forward. Unfortunately, she was not used to the high heels yet, and had stepped down improperly the sidewalk.

"Renton! Oh! Ah!" The heel had snapped and caused her to fall and let out a small yelp.

"Eureka!" Renton said as he tried to catch her. "Ouch! A-are you okay Eureka?" He fell down along with her, but luckily, he broke her fall by pulling her over him. "Y-yeah, I'm okay" she blushed, "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh. You're a little heavier than I thought."

"Huh? Oh!" She quickly moved off Renton and pulled him up, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that.."

Renton laughed, "Don't worry about." He picked up her heels and examined it, "It looks like it is broken, maybe even beyond repair." He looked at her and realized that he should have tried to reassure her instead.

"Eureka, don't worry about."

"But, it was Talho's and she said that she got it from Holland for her-"

"We will definitely get it fixed by the end of today."

"Really?"

Renton smiled and extended his hand, "Let's go look for a cobbler. He'll know what to do."

Eureka giggled, "Thank you."

"For what?" Renton inquired.

"Nothing, it just makes me really happy that.. well. That we're on a date."

Renton smiled, "Me too."

"Dates are so much fun," Eureka said. Renton laughed, "Alright let's go."

The two strolled through the white streets of the city. Unlike previous cities they had been through, this city was doing quite well. It did not seem to have been hit by any of the Corealian's fallout. They continued walking along the side walk when Renton spotted a small white pillar. It barely reached Renton's waist and it had a spinning hologram of a star. "Hm? What is that?" He thought as he approached it. "I think it's this cities directory." Eureka said, "They are usually common in cities that have a lot of shopping districts." Renton stepped closer to the machine and placed his hand near it. The star flickered and spun. "Woah!" exclaimed Renton, "it moved!" The machine came to life as the hologram expanded. In a cool female voice it asked, "Hello, welcome to Neon City's shopping center. How may I be of assistance?"

"Huh. That's interesting." Renton said aloud, "I guess it can tell us where to find a person who can fix your shoe!"

The machine replied in its cool female voice, "If you are looking for a cobbler, please take this route."

To their surprise, a 3-D map popped out of the center of the machine. Eureka giggled, "I guess there's no need to even ask it. It already figured out what we wanted." Renton smiled and looked at the map; he quickly memorized the path to the store and pulled Eureka along. "Com' on! This way! It's not that far away."

"Yikes!" Eureka laughed as she tried to keep up with Renton, "Slow down!"

Renton laughed exuberantly and yelled, "Come on Eureka!"

He laughed again; he doesn't know why he's happy but it felt that it had been such a long time since they had time to experience a normal life. "Even if it is for a short day," he thought, "it's enough for me."

He smiled at Eureka, and she smiled back at him.


End file.
